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A drive up Geer Road can end with a box of peaches, a warm turnover or children climbing at the fruit barn. South of town, lavender and alpacas offer a different afternoon.
Jump to: Geer Road fruit barns · Hilmar’s dairy story · Pumpkins, flowers & U-pick · Gemperle Farms · More farming families
The Geer Road fruit-stand drive
Three stops explain why Geer Road deserves more than a passing mention. Heading north from Turlock toward Hughson, you reach Cipponeri, then Resendiz at Santa Fe Avenue, then J & J Ramos. Their produce overlaps, but each has developed its own reason to pull in.
Cipponeri Family Farms: a Turlock fruit stand with deeper roots
Find it: 5743 Geer Road, Turlock, CA 95382.
The Cipponeri name has been on this Turlock stand since 1992. Its family history reaches back to grandfather Nick Martino’s Modesto fruit stand in the early 1950s and another generation’s stand in 1976. That makes the roadside shop one part of a much longer family trade.
Come for fresh fruit, vegetables, melons, almonds and dried fruit. Foodwise’s grower profile also follows Cipponeri’s produce to Bay Area farmers markets. The physical stand is seasonal; the farm website has current hours and ordering information. For the simplest stop, buy what is being harvested rather than expecting every summer fruit at once.
Resendiz Family Fruit Barn: the one at Santa Fe and Geer
Find it: 4342 Geer Road, Hughson, CA 95326, at Santa Fe Avenue beside the railroad tracks.
This is the fruit barn at the corner people often remember without remembering its name. Resendiz combines produce shopping with a bakery, café and family play area, making it an easy place to turn an errand into lunch. Pies, fruit drinks and seasonal stone fruit give adults reasons to stop, too.
In May 2026 reporting, The Modesto Bee traced the business to Francisco Resendiz’s 1986 opening and described the free family park’s new 34-foot rope climbing structure, which opened over Easter weekend. It is a working produce business that has grown into a gathering place. Use the contact page for today’s hours.
J & J Ramos Farms: fruit, nuts and the bakery counter
Find it: 2507 Geer Road, Hughson, CA 95326.
Farther toward Hughson, J & J Ramos is another substantial fruit-barn stop. Its farm history begins in 1997 with 20 acres of cling peaches, followed by a shift toward fresh-market fruit. The Turlock Journal’s expansion story shows how the retail business grew beyond a produce counter.
Today the attraction includes fruit, vegetables and nuts alongside pies, turnovers and dumplings. That bakery makes Ramos a useful final stop if you want something ready to eat or take to a gathering. Its stand season runs roughly from April through Thanksgiving; check the farm before a winter drive.
Follow the milk to Hilmar
The orchards along Geer are only one part of local agriculture. South of Turlock, dairies helped create a business visitors can actually explore: the Hilmar Cheese Company Visitor Center.
Find it: 9001 North Lander Avenue, Hilmar, CA 95324.
Hilmar’s company history begins with 12 dairy families joining together in 1984 to get more value from their milk; the first facility followed in 1985. Bill Ahlem, one of the founders, was a third-generation dairyman who worked with his father and brothers. Stanislaus State’s remembrance connects that farming career to his support for the university.
The visitor center offers free self-guided dairy exhibits, plus a café and shop. Ice-cream-making and other scheduled activities have their own booking arrangements. This is a public visitor center, so you can learn about the dairy industry without arranging a visit to a private ranch.
Pumpkins, flowers, alpacas and fruit you pick yourself
R.A.M. Farms: pumpkins in fall, produce and flowers in summer
Pumpkin patch: 716 North Daubenberger Road, Turlock, CA 95380. Flower-field entrance: beside 625 North Verduga Road, Turlock, CA 95380.
The Macedo family’s R.A.M. Farms pumpkin patch began in 2007, with the corn maze following in 2010. Patch admission and parking are free; the maze is a separate paid attraction. Its 2026 fall season began September 25, with the maze opening October 2. Evening maze hours make this a different outing from a quick pumpkin purchase.
There is more here than October: the summer produce stand uses a self-service honor box, and U-pick flowers have a separate entrance near the canal. Bring clippers for flower picking when the field is in season. The pumpkin entrance and flower entrance are not interchangeable.
Dutch Hollow Farms: a bigger fall activity stop
Find it: 2500 Santa Fe Avenue, Modesto, CA 95357.
For a longer outing with children, Dutch Hollow has a fall activity area with a corn maze, wagon rides, animals, pig races and other attractions. The 2026 pumpkin season runs October 2–November 1. Entry to the pumpkin patch and parking are free; the activity area requires paid admission. Spring tulips are another season to watch. Use the current Santa Fe address above; older listings still send visitors to Milnes Road.
Pageo Lavender Farm: lavender, lunch and a restored farm setting
Find it: 11573 Golf Road, Turlock, CA 95380.
Established in 2006 on five restored acres, Pageo grows and harvests lavender and turns it into products sold through its gift shop. Lunch and the grounds make it a good fit for visitors who want a quieter stop. It is also a wedding venue, so public shop hours and access to event spaces are different things; lavender blooms are seasonal.
For a specific date to put on the calendar, Pageo’s tenth annual Holiday Market is advertised for November 28, 2026, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., with artisan vendors, food trucks and music.
Atwal Farm: pick a bouquet near Denair
Find it: 9412 East Keyes Road, Denair, CA 95316.
Atwal Farm offers seasonal flower picking and fresh produce, including sunflower and zinnia offerings when available. It is a useful alternative to a fruit-barn trip: you leave with flowers you chose in the field. Its published picking schedules vary, so check the day’s picking hours or call 209-535-2324. The site mentions a pumpkin patch, but it does not yet give a confirmed 2026 opening date.
Macedo’s Mini Acre: the farm-to-yarn connection
Find it: 11175 Golf Link Road, Turlock, CA 95380. Visits by appointment.
Maureen and Larry Macedo’s ranch keeps alpacas and llamas, with a fiber business that sells yarn, dryer balls and other items. Macedo’s Mini Acre also offers fiber and spinning classes. That gives this stop a different purpose from buying fruit: learning how an animal’s fleece becomes something you can use. Arrange a store visit or class at 209-648-2384; it is not an unannounced drop-in petting zoo.
VanderHelm Farms: save it for the next U-pick season
Find it: 1678 Albers Road, Modesto, CA 95357.
The family moved from dairying into blueberry U-pick in 2009, later expanding to other fruit. Seasonal offerings include blueberries, strawberries, cherries and stone fruit, with availability changing as crops ripen. The farm is closed for the 2026 season. Its dated reopening notice says May 2027; the Streetcar Farm Stand is also closed for the season. This is one to plan ahead for, rather than a stop on an October drive.
Gemperle Farms: eggs, orchards and a lasting Turlock connection
The Gemperle family’s story reaches from Swiss immigration to poultry farming, university housing and food-bank donations—a much larger local footprint than a carton of eggs suggests.
According to the farm’s historical timeline, Ernie Gemperle arrived in the United States in 1949 and leased a Washington poultry ranch with 6,000 hens in January 1950. He moved to Turlock in 1951. Army service interrupted that early career; he returned in 1956 with his wife, Annemarie.
Some of the most revealing details are ordinary working improvements. A bulk feed tank installed in 1958 replaced hauling feed sacks. Mechanical egg washers changed the daily labor. Brother Walter helped develop an orchard division in the early 1960s. The poultry and orchard businesses eventually became connected through practices such as using poultry manure for orchard nutrients, described in the farm’s 2022 sustainability report.
That interest in water and soil continued with Rich Gemperle. West Coast Nut’s 2024 profile follows his work as a hydrogeologist in Switzerland and his later return to the family operation. It also describes orchard research involving his daughter Tanya. The farm reports completing its conversion to 100 percent cage-free egg production in May 2021.
Why the Gemperle name appears at Stan State
As Stanislaus State Foundation Board president in 1992–93, Ernie helped lead fundraising and construction for the university’s first on-campus housing. The university’s tribute places that work in the transition from earlier housing across Geer Road to residences on campus. The Ernie Gemperle Lecture Hall in Demergasso-Bava Hall is another visible connection.
His son Steve, a Turlock High graduate, joined the foundation board in 2006. A later Stan State profile follows the family’s continuing involvement. The Gemperle scholarship fund supports qualifying children and grandchildren of employees, while Journal reporting documents egg donations to local food and meal programs.
For eggs or business inquiries: the farm lists 10218 Lander Avenue, Turlock, CA 95380 and 209-667-2651 on its contact page. An egg store appears in its 2022 report, but current retail hours are not published there. Call about availability before going; this is a commercial farm rather than an advertised public-tour attraction.
The history includes the people doing the harvesting
Family names tell one part of the story. Field workers, dairy employees, packing crews and processing workers tell another. Dorothea Lange photographed these pea pickers near Westley in April 1938. Their filled baskets and wait for the weighing station record the work behind the harvest in Stanislaus County.
More farming families and places to know
Burroughs Family Farms: orchard food and soil research
Pickup location: 22323 East Monte Vista Avenue, Denair, CA 95316.
Ward and Rosie Burroughs and their grown children built a farm business that connects almonds, walnuts and olive oil with changes in soil management. The family’s account traces its olive planting to 2008 and first oil to 2012; 2019 Bee reporting explores its use of cover crops and farming practices.
This is a working farm with weekday product pickup, rather than unrestricted grounds to wander. For a more involved look, its regenerative almond field day is scheduled for January 26–27, 2027, with registration opening November 1. That is a learning event with its own registration, not a daily farm tour.
Duarte Nursery: orchard trees and a holiday greenhouse
Find it: 1555 Baldwin Road, Hughson, CA 95326.
Duarte Nursery supplies the trees and grapevines that become other farms’ orchards and vineyards. Brothers John and Jeff Duarte are part of the family business. Its poinsettia greenhouses have a separate public-facing season, a family tradition dating to 1993. The advertised 2026 poinsettia season opens November 21, with hours of 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday. Outside that seasonal sale, use the nursery’s scheduled events rather than assuming public greenhouse access.
Foster Farms: a regional poultry story with Turlock chapters
Foster Farms began in 1939 with Max and Verda Foster’s small poultry operation. Its company history and Bee reporting on its growth connect Livingston processing to later Turlock turkey operations, including the Grange Company acquisition in 1982 and a Butterball plant in 1999. Atlas Holdings acquired the company in 2022. It belongs in the region’s agricultural history, but its production sites are not visitor attractions.
Choose the kind of farm trip you want
- A produce run: follow Geer Road through Cipponeri, Resendiz and J & J Ramos during stand season.
- An afternoon with children: compare Resendiz’s free play park, R.A.M.’s pumpkin patch, Dutch Hollow’s paid activity area and Hilmar’s visitor exhibits.
- Something to take home: look at Atwal’s flowers, Pageo’s lavender products, Macedo’s fiber shop or Burroughs’ orchard foods.
- A deeper local story: start with Gemperle, then follow the dairy families, nurseries and farm workers who helped build the area.
The Stanislaus County Farm Bureau’s Harvest Trails directory lists seasonal farm stands. Check each operator’s announcements for visit dates. Related: nearby-town guides · Stanislaus State’s history · History of Turlock.
