Crystal Beach Orchard was started by a group of 12 families from the Harris area in 1992. With this many people involved everything that was done had a lot of discussion and planning put into it and the end result was a very well designed productive orchard. With a couple of exceptions this group owned and operated the orchard until April 2008 when it was purchased by Tyler Trew and Teneille Mertin of Conquest, Sk.
Tyler grew up near Sceptre, Sk. on a grain farm where his mom and dad still farm. He went into mechanics after high school where he worked at a truck repair shop until starting his own trucking co in 2003. He drives truck as well as repairs them when need be.
Teneille grew up near Leader, Sk. until her mom and dad stopped farming and moved to Saskatoon to start a cider & lemonade business (Homestyle Beverages) when she was 11. She has been helping make and sell their products ever since.
In 2005 they started their own family with the birth of their son Davis. They have continued the trucking co. and helping with the cider and the grain farming while expanding their family by two more, Julia in 2006 and Reid in 2008. With the purchase of Crystal Beach Orchard they have started working more closely with Teneille's mom and dad and opened a small store on the orchard where Homestyle's products are carried. The store was a nice fit for the orchard and did well in it's first year. Their first crop off the orchard also did very well, growing conditions were great setting a new record crop for the orchard.
Tyler and Teneille plan to keep living at Conquest and operating the truck fleet and tending to the orchard and store at Harris in the summer, as well as to continue helping on the grain farm at Sceptre at seeding and harvest.
