Brand Farms

Our take

The short version

Brand Farms has operated in Farmington since 1958, evolving from a family dairy into a fruit farm, and its own site provides one of the more thoroughly confirmed records in this research: a dated weekend-only u-pick season running September 5 through November 1, 2026, and a twelve-variety apple list named in full. That level of specificity is relatively rare in this batch and makes Brand Farms easier to plan around than several other South Metro options.

A confirmed, dated season — with a schedule split

U-pick runs Saturday and Sunday only, from September 5 through November 1, 2026, per the orchard’s own site. The Farm Market, by contrast, is open daily throughout that period. That split matters: if you’re hoping to pick apples yourself, you need a weekend visit, but if you just want pre-picked fruit, cider donuts, or other farm-market goods, any day of the week works. Both u-pick and market hours run 10am to 6pm.

Twelve named varieties, spanning the whole season

The record lists First Kiss, Zestar, Chestnut Crabapple, SweeTango, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Honeygold, Haralson, SnowSweet, Fireside, Cortland, and Evercrisp — an unusually long and specific list for a Twin Cities orchard, per the research notes. That spread runs from early-season apples (First Kiss, Zestar) through classic midseason varieties (McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Cortland) into late-ripening ones (Fireside, Evercrisp, which often isn’t ready until October). Chestnut Crabapple, worth noting, is a smaller, tarter fruit typically used for jelly or pickling rather than eating fresh.

Cider donuts, cider mill unconfirmed

Cider donuts are advertised on the orchard’s own site as made fresh daily — a confirmed detail. What the site doesn’t specify is whether the cider used is pressed on the property or sourced elsewhere, so if a working cider press is something you want to see in person, that’s worth a direct question by phone (651-206-9457) rather than an assumption based on the donuts alone.

More than just picking

Beyond the orchard rows, the record lists hayrides, bounce pads, hay bale climbing, and educational tours. That combination suggests a family day built around more than fruit-picking alone, with the educational tours in particular standing out as a less common offering among the orchards in this research batch — potentially useful if you’re bringing a school group or simply want more context on how the farm operates.

A long operating history

Since 1958, per the record, Brand Farms has run as a family operation that started as a dairy before transitioning into fruit production. That kind of longevity doesn’t guarantee anything about a specific visit, but it does suggest an established operation with routines around its weekend u-pick schedule and daily market that have had decades to settle into place.

What’s not confirmed

No pricing is listed for either u-pick apples or Farm Market goods, and no cider mill is confirmed on-site despite the fresh-donut claim. Those are the two clearest gaps in an otherwise well-documented record.

Getting there

Brand Farms is at 18605 Biscayne Avenue W in Farmington, Dakota County, in the Twin Cities South Metro. Coordinates on file are an approximate area estimate, not individually geocoded.

Bottom line

Brand Farms stands out in this batch for the level of confirmed, dated detail on its own site — a specific u-pick season and a full twelve-variety list. The main planning point to remember is the weekend-only u-pick window against a daily-open Farm Market; pricing for either is the one gap worth confirming by phone before you go.