Picking oranges at Ever After Farms

Now is 8:40. It's tough to get more Florida than this. You can pick your own oranges and get married at the farm near the attractions. A lot going on there. All right. We need to breathe. Good news, David. It's just been really tough. So hopefully this will bring a little bit of light to everybody. Hey there. Well, we've been talking about it all morning long. Jenny Cahoon is a sixth-generation Florida farmer, and she's got cattle head all over Brevard County, some down in Palm Bay and Melbourne. How are they doing with all the flooding? You know, they're doing okay. They're resilient. We've got them fed, getting them to high ground, and making sure they're all taken care of. But they'll do all right. Good. Well, if you're wondering where we are right now, we're a couple counties over, or one county over exactly, Polk County, Polk City to be exact, home to... Yup, a U-Pick Citrus Farm called Ever After Citrus U-Pick in Polk City, Polk County. We are now in citrus picking season, aren't we, Jenny? Yes, sir, we sure are. We open this Saturday. Open this Saturday, so if you're looking for something fun to do and need a respite from all the tough news this week and the elections, come on out here, bring your kids, and pick some oranges. We have in front of us three-year-old Paisley and nine-year-old Cash. They've got their loot. They've done some great picking already, so you're ready for Saturday. Yes, sir. We sure are. Great. Here's an example of what the audience would pick. What kind of citrus are we looking at here? These are bingos. They're a U.S. variety that's kind of based around the idea of the cuties. They're easy to peel for kids, easy to go They're on a 942 rootstock, which for layman's terms is a rootstock that is helpful for citrus greening. It's resistant to citrus greening. Great. And it helps us combat some of those diseases that we face in Florida. It's hard to believe this, but I'm telling you, it's hard-growing citrus in Florida. It is very hard-growing citrus in Florida. We see lots of pests. We see urban encroachment. We see all the different things that affect us every day, but we're still out here doing it. I love it. All right, let's show the audience something they may not be expecting here on the property. And as we do so, we're going to walk to it. It is a wedding venue. Maybe the name Ever After is appropriate here for this. Yes, sir, absolutely. So the idea is that you get to come out and enjoy it with your family. after you've gotten married here. This is wonderful. How long have you been a wedding venue and a you pick here in Polk City? Polk City for about four and a half five years I believe and so we're on that all total about nine years all across the state. And what's great about a wedding venue is you get to make some money in the year when otherwise it would have been tough. i.e. 2026. Absolutely. Very unpredictable weather patterns, unpredictable markets, all the things. Agritourism has kind of redefined farming for small farmers. It's given us the opportunity to make a lot of additional revenue when our yields are down or when crops are down or when we hit giant weather patterns like we've seen this year. Right, right. You're down 50% this year. So when we walk into this gorgeous facility, we see your husband here. His name is? Ralph. Ralph. Ralph Cahoon. And your other daughter? Yes. This is? Daisy. Daisy. There's your audience right there, Daisy. Everybody wave. All right, so mom and I are going to walk around this gorgeous facility and remind our audience, how many weddings have you done in 2026 so far? Here, I believe, so far, we're probably at about 90. All total throughout the year, we'll end up doing about 138 in this location. 138 weddings in this beautiful facility. Yes, yes. So we are blessed to get to see so many different people out here, invite them out to the farm, let them start their happily ever after here. And it works. And this is not the only ever after farm you have in Florida. Correct. How many ever afters do you have? Nine total, all of which are farms first and foremost. And then we have the agritourism. Very good. All right, let's say goodbye to our audience real quick and let them know what's it going to cost me to take them home. That is going to be $15. Fill it as full as you possibly can. Fill it as And how many did you put in there, Paisley? Say a lot. A lot. Very good. What's the website and the Facebook page to keep up tabs on us? www.everafterfarms.com and Ever After Farms, U-pick citrus. Yeah, it's on social media and online. Very good. Send it back to you there, John, Danielle, and Amy. Thanks very much, Jenny. Thank you. That place is beautiful. It is gorgeous. It's huge. Yeah, it is. Great venue. That would be a big wedding. Yeah. A big wedding. 9:45, welcome back. You know, it is kind of tough to get more Florida than this. We're really looking for a bright spot in David Martin today, so here's what you can do. You can pick your own oranges and get married at the same time at this farm. It's near the attractions area. David Martin is there, and he is live this morning telling us all about it. It's in Polk City. Hi, David. Yeah, people think Polk City sounds far away, but it's actually not far away from Orlando at all. Is it, Jenny Cahoon? No, not at all. Maybe not. 45, 50 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic down I-4. It's right off of I-4, actually. Yeah, right off of I-4, just one exit west of 27. There we are. We are Ever After Farms. U-pick Citrus Farm here in Polk City. We should mention that Jenny Cahoon is a sixth-generation Florida farmer, and you've got farms and property all around the state. All over the state. Including down in Brevard County, which is suffering just catastrophic elements right now. And you have cattle down in Palm Bay. How are the cows doing? They're doing okay. They're definitely going to need a lot more hay, a lot more feed, get them up to high ground, make sure all their babies are taken care of, but they'll do all right. Yeah. We were originally scheduled to be on this with you yesterday, and then we realized it wasn't going to happen. But we're glad to have you back because this weekend, folks, you can come on down to her ranch right here in Polk City to pick. Citrus. We are officially in citrus season in Florida. Yes, we are. Harvest season is upon us, and it's our favorite time of year. What do you grow here on property? This is a Bingo orange. It's kind of a tangerine-style orange. Easy to peel, easy to pick. They mimic the cuties that you see in the store. They do. So they go into the lunchbox really, really nice and easy for the kids. My kids absolutely love them. They eat their weight's worth every single day. They're grown on a... Rootstock, which is a rootstock that is developed by the University of Florida to help Florida farmers combat greening. So while they're not greening-tolerant, they're a little bit more greening-resistant. And you need that, of course, in Florida. Absolutely. I want to give a shout-out to your nail tech. Good Lord. Paolo, put your hands up. Did you do those for our show this morning? No, I did them myself. Put them out there. Let the audience see that. They're very intricate. Thank you. And they're great for picking the orange. They are. They work well. All right. Well, you're the nail tech. Okay, I like it. And you are a heck of a farmer. Let me try that orange that Paolo said. Yeah, here you go. It tastes like a can of Fanta. Okay, I like it. Usually when they're tart. They're a little tart. You know, in Florida, we like to have a little bit more cold weather to bring the sugars into the fruit. I understand that. And I can see what you're saying, but my goodness, they're sensational. They are still really good. So you are okay to pick a full bag. You want to pick a full bag, right? Yeah, pick as many as you can to take home. The longer that they sit on the counter at home, the more they ripen and the more the sugars come into them. So they're going to get better by the day. They're juicy. Yes, they are. I could have this entire bag on the way back to the station today. Absolutely. All right, we are walking on your property because I want folks to know that you can get married here. In fact, that is the theme of all your ever after properties. You've got nine of them in the Sunshine State, right? We sure do. Yep. And this, they're not all citrus farms, of course. Correct. Yeah. So we grow anything from blueberries to mangoes and avocados down in South Florida, flowers, cattle, horses, just about anything you can think of. That's terrific. And the one that's closest to many of our viewers is this one right here in Polk City. And you've got a gorgeous reception bar. And we showed that in the 8 o'clock hour. I wanted to give our 9 o'clock audience a look at where the actual ceremony takes place. Right. Look at that beautiful oak tree. My gosh, it's a stunner. Yeah, this particular ceremony site seats 200 people comfortably. And it's under the canopy of a beautiful oak tree. And it's nice and quiet, your guests can come in, you can get married, surrounded by orange trees, and what better way to say quintessential Florida than citrus. And you got a lot of weddings, a hundred and how many in 2026? I think we'll do 138 here at this location. That seems incredible to me. It's at this location, which means you... times that by nine. 941 across the state. And that'll help for a year where you're only yielding 50% of the oranges you normally do. So in agriculture, we see, you know, a setback after setback, whether it be weather or market conditions or whatever that may be. And the agritourism helps bring in that additional revenue. Give Jenny some love. Find her on Facebook. What's the Facebook page? Ever After Farms. You pick citrus or Ever After Farms wedding venues. And the website is also very easy. Yes. www.everafterfarms.com Again, a bad... The entire bag of this is about $15. Yes, yep. That's an incredible price for sensational fruit. Ladies, we'll send it back to you live from Ever After Citrus You Pick in Polk City, opening this weekend for you. I love you. Thank you. Beautiful. Thank you, David. Good stuff. All right, 10-12 here on your Tuesday morning. It's really tough to get more Florida than this. So you can actually pick your own oranges, and if you are single, I guess, get married at some point at a farm near the attractions area. David Martin is there. It is in Polk City, and what a beautiful place. Hi, David. We know Stephanie just brought up a good point there Amy if you're single but maybe you want to renew your vows you can do it here ever after right that's something to think about. All right so welcome back to the show Jenny Cahoon who manages Ever After You Pick Citrus here in Polk City. It's not too far from Orlando in Polk County. You get nine Ever After properties throughout the state all of them are wedding venues slash you picks. You pick farms yeah. And right now, we've just started U-Pick citrus season in the entire state. You grow right now on this side of the farm something you call bingos, right? Yes, these are bingos. They're a tangerine-style citrus fruit. Thank you. They are easy to peel, nice and small for the lunchbox. They're grown on 942 rootstock. What's that mean? That means it's a variety that's developed by the University of Florida that helps Florida farmers be able to combat greening. So while they're not resistant, they're a very tall. They're very tolerant, and they can kind of help us combat some of that citrus greening disease that's going around Florida. I would think everybody would like a 942 rootstock. Absolutely. It's a very popular rootstock right now. They're also seedless. Yes, they are. If they have a seed, it's one, but not very many at all. And like I said, great for the kids. Great for the kids. Great for me, too. I enjoyed it immensely. We should mention that as the bingos get plucked off the trees, you have other citrus that will grow as the season progresses into May and June. Absolutely. So we have different varieties, again, all grown on the 942 rootstock. Sugar bells, which are another tangerine style, to navels, tangelos, and a few other different varieties that will be good for juicing. Those younger trees that will be good for juicing, they won't produce this year because they are still so young. Okay. But next year, we'll be looking to kind of open up a little off-branch of our U-Pick and have the ability for our customers to be able to juice their own oranges. That's great. Yeah, we're excited. We'll do that next year with you. Yeah. All right, so the bingos are available for how long, you think? It is a smaller crop this year, so I would probably say till the first week of December. Okay. So all through November, and then we should be opening up for sugar bells right after that. Very good. And you mentioned that it was a smaller yield this year due to the cold we had at the earlier. Yes, that big cold front that came in back in February. It was record low temperatures for a record number of days. Which is why you offset that. Even on a bad year, you can make some money with the wedding venue aspect of the farm year. Yes, yep. Even on a good year, you can make some dough. I love that. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, yeah, the beauty about Florida farming is diversification, right? And so part of that diversification for us is agritourism. And, you know, you mentioned vow renewals. We do quinceañeras, bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings, vow renewals, all these. That's a great idea. Hello, kids. How are we doing today? It's time to meet the beautiful family, the Cajun family here. We have how old are you? Eleven? Yes, sir. Eleven. And your name? Daisy. Daisy. They're very polite here with the yes or no sir manners. And the youngest here, we have three-year-old. What's your name, lovey? Paisley. Paisley. And in the middle, stuck in the middle, is nine-year-old? Cash. Cash. And Cash, tell your audience, is it K-A-S-H or C-A-S-H? It's Cash with a K. And daddy here is Ralph, Ralph Cahoon. Ralph, good day to you, my friend. Good day. Ralph, you're a how many generation farmer from Montana? Six. Six. And you're a sixth generation from Florida. From Florida, yes. Florida farmer, Montana. What do you fight about? Oh, that's a good question. I don't know, what do we fight about? You seem pretty happy, you don't fight much. He's not going to say it. You don't fight much. I don't like to lose. You don't like to lose. She's good. And the kids are beautiful and they're homeschooled here. Yes, yes. Okay, so we are walking through the giant reception hall, if you will. And the chandeliers are gorgeous, ample seating. How many people can you fit in here? 200 max. That's plenty. Yes, yeah. You don't want too many more than that when everybody gets to that open bar. Right. And you've got in between where the ceremony takes place and the reception, you've got a house where the bride can get ready with all of her makeup. Yeah, so sometimes bridesmaids need a little extra time to get ready in the morning, so that opens that for them to be able to come in the morning of the wedding and get ready and hang out. I love it. Okay, so we're in Polk City, Florida. Where's the nearest Ever After, the next Ever After? Probably closest to the west of us would be over in Tampa. That's our Seffner location. That's Ever After Farms. You pick flowers. I like this. It's not just a flower grove. It's 11 acres of you pick flowers. I think Paolo and I are going to have to make a road trip down to Seffner, Florida. Can you lift that aisle? Lift it up for us. Can you lift both of those? Show us your muscles there. I'm going to sing. Father will help you. How much is it going to cost to take home one of these bags? So it's $15 and all you can fit in this bag. All you can fit. That's a lot of fruit. It is. And they're super sweet. Cash, what do you like to have with your bingos? What do you like to drink or eat with them? I like, we like, like last year we juiced a quart of it and it was so good. Yeah, so just straight up juice. Yes, yeah. That's a sweet drink. All right, that's fun. I love it very much. The hours of operation for the U-Pick starting on Saturday? Saturday is going to be 9 to noon. Sunday is going to be 9 to noon. And then Wednesdays we will open 9 to 5, crop and weather pending. And that goes on until at least December. Yes, sir. So Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays. That's nice to have an available day during the week for people. And that's kind of, we like to, a lot of what we do at the farms is an educational piece, so we like to bring the educational side. So we have educational handouts, coloring books, and things like that for the kids, especially some of those homeschool families that want to come out during the week and see the farm. I love it. All right, Ralph and Paisley, do you know, or... Daisy, please don't be shy. Come here and stand next to your beautiful family and give our audience a wave. This is, again, Ever After Farm in Poulos. Now open on Saturday for You Pick Citrus. Ladies and John, we're going to send it back to you now.