Local produce grown with an environmentally conscious mindset

Heather Graves

Staff

March 24, 2025

WINNEBAGO COUNTY – Brothers Brady and Bryce Rennert – owners and founders of Pickett Produce in Winnebago County – said their interest in agriculture started in horticulture classes in high school.

“They taught us a lot about growing vegetables and flowers, as well as business practices,” Brady said.

Taking things one step further, the brothers said they competed in both the state and national FFA competitions for horticulture and floriculture. 

“We won the competition both years we competed,” Brady said. “We credit our high school teachers at Oshkosh West for opening our eyes to a career path that we weren’t familiar with, and helping us unlock the possibilities of a career in farming.”

In 2016, Pickett Produce had its first booth at the Oshkosh Farmers Markets.

In the years since, The Rennert brothers said they have continued to grow the farm and its offerings.

“We’ve continued since 2016 at the Oshkosh Farmers Markets, added our stand on the corner of Oakwood and Witzel street in Oshkosh (shortly after) and started offering community supported agriculture (CSA) boxes as well in 2020,” Brady said.

The pair said they are a team of two running Pickett Produce operations, with “some family members and dedicated friends we’ve met along the way” helping out as needed. 

“At our peak season we have 8-10 people helping us run the whole operation,” Brady said.

Pandemic-inspired pivot

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Brady said Pickett Produce pivoted slightly in its offerings by launching CSA memberships.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CSA memberships allow consumers to purchase a share of a farm’s harvest in advance, receiving a weekly or bi-weekly box of fresh, seasonal produce, while at the same time supporting local farmers. 

“We started our CSAs when COVID hit,” Bryce said. “We were able to provide people with fresh, locally grown produce, even when they didn’t feel comfortable coming down to the farmers’ markets.”

The Rennert brothers said they deliver CSA boxes to members’ homes or workplaces on Thursday mornings.

“We think CSA programs are extremely important, and a great option for people to have fresh produce delivered to them weekly,” Brady said. “If the farmers’ market gets cancelled due to weather, or a person cannot stop down to the farm stand, our members are guaranteed delivery every Thursday (during harvest time).”

CSAs, Bryce said, are also a great way for people to try produce they may not have chosen for themselves.

“Every week is different with our memberships, depending on what is in season and ready to be harvested,” he said. “We send out an email newsletter every week letting our members know what is in their box – highlighting the health benefits of a featured item that week, and even give recipe ideas.”

With preparations for the 2025 growing season already underway, the Rennert brothers said sign up is open for this year’s CSA program.

“If someone is interested in signing up for a CSA membership with us they can visit our website and submit the form with some basic contact information,” Brady said. 

From there, Bryce said Pickett Produce’s CSA coordinator will reach out via email to answer any questions.

“The CSA program is essentially a subscription to produce boxes,” he said. “A member will pay at the beginning of the season, and in turn we deliver fresh, locally grown produce to your door weekly.”

Brady said CSA boxes start in June and go for 17 weeks into October. 

“We deliver from Neenah to the North Fond du Lac area,” he said.

Environmentally conscious mindset

As owners of Pickett Produce, the Rennert brothers said much of their lives are spent outdoors around wildlife and native plants.

“We have tremendous respect for our land,” Bryce said. “We want to do our best to only improve the land that we work.”

In order to help accomplish this, the brothers said they practice crop rotation, as well as add beneficial insects – like honeybees and bumblebees – for pollination and ladybugs for pest control.

“We take pride in doing what’s best for the environment, even if it makes our job a little more difficult,” Bryce said.

The Rennert brothers said a lot of work goes into a successful season – even before the growing begins.

“We need to plan which crops are going in which fields, order seeds and plant the first seeds – and that’s all done before the snow even melts,” Brady said. “When it comes to planting we need to ensure that each crop is planted in the appropriate time frame, so we can space our harvests to hopefully have just the right amount per week. Mostly all of our produce is picked, sorted, washed and packed by hand – ensuring the best quality.”
The farming duo said one of the unique aspects of Pickett Produce is that they are first-generation farmers “who share a love for growing.”

“We are also identical twins – that really sets our business apart, too,” Bryce said. 

Between the farmers’ markets, their farm stand and CSA program, Brady said “we are able to provide produce to a wide variety of customers.”

“We love to grow unique items, too – especially heirloom and heritage produce,” he said. “Our melons are really our specialty. We grow a large variety of seedless and seeded watermelon, cantaloupes and honeydews. One of our favorite parts about the job is getting to help customers try new produce and different crops throughout the season that they haven’t tried before.”

Continuing to grow

In 2021, Bryce said Pickett Produce started growing through the winter months “to supply customers with fresh produce for as long as we could.”

“Crops like lettuce and spinach are cold-tolerant and are able to withstand the colder weather,” he said. “We like to keep our produce going as long as we can. Some winter weather is less cooperative, making it more difficult. We like to have some time off, so we usually grow until January, and take some time off then.”

This year, the brothers added four new honeybee hives to their operation to help with pollination, as well as supply honey.

“We bought our first honeybee hive almost 10 years ago now,” Bryce said. “We really love watching them work and seeing them out in the fields while we are working. It’s very rewarding at the end of the day to take some time, relax and be around the bees.”

Bryce said it puts life in a new perspective – seeing how hard all the bees work together toward the same outcome.

“We’ve found that the bees really love the flowers of watermelon, cantaloupe and pumpkins,” he said. “We put out the hives in late spring, check on them throughout the summer, and add additional boxes when they need it. This is used to grow the hive and provide more room for bees – they can be temperamental, and you have to know the right timing to add more boxes.”

The brothers said they usually extract the honey in early fall.

“If you purchase honey at the stand or at the Oshkosh Farmers’ Markets, there’s a good chance it was bottled the night before,” he said.

Brady said Pickett Produce also dabbles in morel mushrooms as well.

“The season varies each year depending on the weather,” he said. “It’s one of our favorite family traditions, we go to our properties and camp overnight. We hike our land and look for mushrooms with our family. Some people don’t have land or have the time to look, so we love giving people the opportunity to try them who may not otherwise be able to.”

Customer support

As preparations continue for the 2025 season, the Rennert brothers said they want to thank their loyal customers for their continued support.

“We love doing what we do and providing people with fresh, locally grown produce,” Bryce said. “We couldn’t do what we love without the support of all our customers, and the great friends we’ve made along the way.”

For more information, visit Pickett Produce’s website at pickettproduce.com, or check out the farm’s Facebook page.