Good Fruit Grower

46 JUNE 2017 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com LAST BITE More Young Growers at goodfruit.com/yg Alfredo Reyes grower / Royal City, Washington age / 29 crops / Apples business / Washington Fruit and Produce Co. family background / Alfredo was born in Mexico and grew up in Wenatchee with four sisters and two brothers. Everyone in his immediate family works in agriculture. He worked all types of orchard jobs before pursuing his college degree to advance his career. " " " " How did you get your start? I started working out in the orchard when I was in high school, helping during cherry harvest in the summers. After graduating, I began full-time work operating the spray rigs and helping manage a couple orchards. I learned a lot from those early jobs. When I was young, I remember my parents telling me to stay in school because, if I didn't, I'd end up working in agriculture. My fi rst jobs were in ag and I learned you can make a very good living in agriculture. After going to college, I've gained the experience to provide farm management recommendations — instead of only working on the tractor. What decisions led to where you are? It was hard, and it was diffi cult to maintain a living when I started. Through all that, I was planning to go to college to become a teacher, but my passion was ag. When I learned there was an agricultural pro- gram at Wenatchee Valley College, I fi gured I may be able to combine both my love for teaching with ag. I could become an orchard man- ger, a consultant, a fi eldman and be able to teach people how to work with the trees. This was a path that I wanted to take — and I could make a really good living at — and enjoy my job every day. What college work has provided the most benefi t? I think the courses covering agricultural math, such as calculat- ing farm yield and maximizing production, along with the business components. When you are working only in the fi eld, you aren't see- ing the bigger industry. Being able to learn about how a farm is run, that if you have good fi nancial returns you'll be able to continue to farm — even expand. Once you go into school you'll learn that maybe the irrigation methods you've been exposed to are outdat- ed. You'll learn about all the new research, new varieties and new ways to farm. The industry is supporting research so there's a lot a farmer can learn to improve quality and returns. What advice would you give to younger growers? What I've told people before is they should be ready to adapt to changes. Even if they are new to the industry, expect systems and methods to change rapidly. You've got to be ready to adapt and keep up with how the industry is going. Realize that when you join this industry, look around and see how huge it is and how many opportunities are available. The pay can be really good with benefi ts and time off. Growing up, you may have the perspective that agriculture is shovels, tractor driving, etc., but there are so many jobs in many dis- ciplines that allow people to advance in their career. " The industry is moving toward more ef�icient, precise farming techniques. PLAY goodfruit.com/yg scan to watch the interview www.gslong.com SPONSORED BY by TJ Mullinax More from this interview and other Young Growers at goodfruit.com/yg.

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