Lesser Farms and Orchard

Lesser Farms and Orchard is owned by brothers Dale and Tom Lesser. Other family members involved include their mother, Carol Lesser; Brother, David Lesser and Tom’s son Albert, who is the 5th generation of Lessers to farm the family farm that began with Dale and Tom’s great-grandfather, August; grandfather Ezra; and father Norwin. The orchard has been on the land for a long time, but it was in 1962 when our family began selling the “nice apples” by the roadside. From there, that part of the operation grew over the years and eventually led to making (unpasteurized) cider. To this day our family still presses cider in the same manner as we did when we pressed our first gallon. Among the six 4-H club members in Washtenaw county who are feeding livestock for entry in the Junior show at Detroit is Mary Lesser, 14, shown above with her Aberdeen Angus steer. She is in the eighth grade of the Spiegelberg school, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Lesser, who live five miles west of Dexter. Published In Ann Arbor News, November 18, 1936 |Learn More In November of 1919, approximately 50 farmers met at the Dexter Opera House and formed the Dexter Agriculture Association. They opened for business on January 1, 1920. The co-operative idea quickly caught on and within two months there were 94 members, contributing $20,000 to the treasury. In 1921, they began selling coal and shipping livestock for the members, charging only the cost of the shipping. August Lesser (2nd generation) became the manager during this time. Learn More HOMEABOUTPRODUCTSRECIPESFAQSCONTACTSHOP