Field Trip to The Berry Farms
I recently had the opportunity to visit Karl Wiegandt’s “The Berry Farms.” Karl (who call’s himself KO) is the husband of Mary Kay nsd Dacia Wiegandt (wannabe Instagram influencer dacialea), who also tried branding herself as Farmer’s Wife & Heels. *eyeroll*
Karl isn’t really a farmer. He has a glorified fruit stand. An overpriced farmer’s market that you can pay $5 or $7 to get into.
Your admission lets you buy food and take a little tractor ride.
(notice the pink tractor)
The Wiegandts became Not Farmers by renting a fruit stand from Burr Berry Farm. They then took the Burr family’s story and tried to make it their own. (I know my Papa Jack who started this farm in “1964” is looking down upon heaven smiling so proud of the legacy continuing.) No, it’s wasn’t Papa Jack. It was the Burr family. When caught in the lie, Dacia tried to say that her family has been farming for decades, so it’s essentially true. It’s all that Mary Kay honesty in her.
When the Burrs decided not to renew the lease, the Weigandts went and bought a plot of land out in the middle of nowhere and put up some barns. They are trying to make this a destination. (Someone called it their amusement park idea.) But it’s a terrible waste of money.
First, it’s so far out of the way, you’re not going to go there unless you specifically know it’s there and head that way. In other words, they have no visibility and won’t get any foot traffic from passers by.
Second, there is almost nothing to do there. It is a waste of time and money, even if it’s only $5 or $7 to get in. You’re paying to get a little tractor ride on which you see nothing. You get to buy overpriced shakes, ice cream, and produce.
There’s your first-hand report of what The Berry Farms is offering to its customers. Note that I’m not the only one who feels it’s a waste of time and money to go there. Here’s a Yelp review:
Visit the
Was there a life size cutout of Dacia you could pose for pics with?
LOL – No mention of Dacia anywhere. The closest they came was the pink tractor.
Yes, but that’s 4.00 extra of course
The agro-tourism aspect has been a “thing” for some time now, thanks to sites like Instagram. It’s the posed photos in the sunflower fields, the hayrides, and more that have driven some places like this one to be a tourist spot versus a farm.
In contrast, there is a HUGE strawberry farm not far from where I live. There is no admission fee unless there is a specialty festival activity happening, and then it’s by the carload (I think it was like $10 for the WHOLE car of people.). The u-pick strawberries? No charge except the cost of your filled bucket. Tractor rides (which are meant for the kiddos): $2 per kid. Want to pet the goats? Free. Want to feed the goats? Free. Just ask for a paper cup of the feed. Do your kiddos want to play in the little playhouses and on the playground? Free. You can buy all kinds of produce, jams/preserves, baked goods, and more at very reasonable costs. Did I mention that it’s ACTUALLY run by a family of farmers?
That pink tractor screams: “This isn’t a real farm.” Visitors are presumably there to experience a slice of rural life; a pink tractor is just . . . WRONG. Honestly, what were they thinking?
The road sign is a disaster. There are far too many words; if people can’t parse it in the split second they have available, they will not bother to try. That’s basic human psychology, and it’s why billboard ads keep their word-counts low.
“WELCOME Y’ALL” it says (no comma, but OK). Welcome to what? That circle with a strawberry surrounded by tiny print looks like it belongs on a lectern at a press conference; who bothers to read the words around a great seal?
News flash: “y’all” is off-putting to at least half the U.S. population. It might as well read “welcome, hicks.”
Success in MLM does not qualify one to run a successful business. All these NSDs and former NSDs who have been deluded into thinking they can make it as entrepreneurs, or business coaches, or life coaches . . . it’s just sad. I’d be sympathetic, but their “success” was in scamming women, so nope.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks “WELCOME Y’ALL” doesn’t seem inviting.
Dacia’s not Southern. At least, not in her mannerisms. Pink tractor? Nothing to do? This isn’t a real farm at all. Looks more like a bunch of fake, try-hard, money-sink nonsense to me.
Lol, that sign also made me cringe. That would’ve been used when I was in advertising school as an example of what not to do for signage. I can’t remember the guideline for reading a billboard, think it’s supposed to be 3 or 4 seconds. Not a lot of text, keep the font simple and one size, things like that. But, we’ve seen how the MK ones craft their posts and emails, so it’s no surprise this is out there. I’m shocked it doesn’t have a plethora of exclamation points.
At least the sign didn’t use comic sans font. I guess. (Hey, look, I’m trying to be positive, here, OK?)
Meanwhile I’m reading the comments and thinking ‘there was a billboard?!?’ I completely missed it because my eyes were immediately drawn to the horrid formatting of the admission breakdown.
I wouldn’t care if it were someone’s first business, but for someone who has been in ‘business’ as long as she has, that’s atrocious. It’s a small detail, but it’s a rookie move. It’s a crack in the overall persona. My boss would think I was sick if I presented something so sloppy.
I think Dacia is a legit case of how someone can be “appointed” as an executive in MLM but has no, as in ZERO, actual legit skills in running a business.
She can’t even run a SMALL, FAMILY-OWNED business, let alone an actual billion-dollar company.
I don’t think she could even run a lemonade stand.
She could run it into the ground. Does that count?
I live in the neighborhood, a wonderful rural farming area of south Miami-Dade County called the Redlands, or Redland. There are plenty places that you can get fresh fruit, vegetables, a few with milkshakes and food, and you don’t have to pay to get into them. No way would my husband and I pay $14 for an entrance fee. This list is a outdated since Burr’s is still listed. All are free except The Fruit and Spice Park, which is exceptional. But there’s also other places out here that didn’t make the list. https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/things-to-do/florida-tours/redlands-florida-6-places-to-visit-in-miami-dades-agricultural-gem.html
This is an example of the egos in MK. Who does she think she is? Joanna Gaines? When I met her, she came across as bossy and a celebrity. Very unimpressed. Her spelling is an embarrassment to teachers nationwide, and her posts are narcissistic and gross. All eyes on her, so I’m not surprised in paying for nothing! ?
I’m making this comment without having read the entire post, so this is first impression only:
WHY would a high-level executive such as an NSD need to charge ADMISSION to anyone who wanted to visit her “side hustle” farm???
WHY wouldn’t this loving farm be FREE to all who wanted to see it, if she indeed is making high-six or possibly seven figures in her MK “position”?
Yes, I understand that if this farm is a side business, that it needs to at least break even. I get that. But, if charging per head admittance is what’s needed to break even (regardless of any product sales), then those in charge have a poor grasp of how business works and how profit is achieved.
Whenever I need entertainment, Dacia never fails me.
Mountaineer95, I’m getting an impression—subtle, but peeking through around the edges nonetheless—that your questions are all rhetorical. Call me crazy, but that’s what I’m thinking.
Sarcasm now temporarily set aside, it does beggar the mind that a place that has so little in the way of entertainment value would charge what they do just to get in. I mean, wha-a-at?