Good Fruit Grower

46 SEPTEMBER 2017 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com LAST BITE More Young Growers at goodfruit.com/yg Tarrah Te Velde grower / Cashmere, Washington age / 20 crops / Pears business / Te Velde Farms family background / Tarrah works with her mother, Michelle Te Velde, on their family pear orchard that was passed down to them by Tarrah's grandfather, Don Montgomery. The farm grows Bosc, D'Anjou and Bartlett pears mostly for the fresh market. " " " " How did you get your start? I've lived on the farm my whole life, and I have two older sisters and the farm was part of the family dynamic. We always had an orchard manager, but we helped out with irrigation and harvest. I remember being about 4 years old and all of us were out moving handlines. Dad would be carrying fi ve pipes, both of my sisters and mom were carrying two, and I would be hunting around for the shortest one that I could drag behind me, getting them coated in grass and dirt. As we've grown, responsibilities have been changing hands. What are your goals beyond running your orchard? In high school my agriculture teacher would bring in fi eldmen who could look at a line of pears and apples that were beat up, had bites, and identify any type of injuries. They could tell you what bug did it or whether the damage occurred at blossom, and I thought that I wanted to be able to do that. Being able to step into that role — I wasn't sure if I could do that — because all the fi eldmen here are men. I was concerned about getting a job if I spent four years learning to be a fi eldman. When I arrived at college, I had instructors who believed in me and encouraged me to be a grower. At that time I was able to fi nd a job at the WSU Research and Extension program working for three incredible women. The fact that they are so high up in the program and they know so much, it just made me believe I could succeed. How has your family guided your career? My mom had to take over the orchards six years ago when my grandfather passed. At fi rst all of us had concerns about her, a single mother who works in Ellensburg, Washington, would be taking care of orchards in Cashmere. At that time, a lot of people who knew us offered to buy the orchards from us and she just said no. It was her strength that showed me that I could go into the tree fruit industry and have the respect of my community. I know it'd be easier for us to do different things, but the community has been so great supporting us. So now, watching Mom never give up, even when she's frus- trated, I've never heard her consider selling the orchards. It was her strength that pushed me to choose this career. What would you tell younger growers? Farming is diffi cult. There are days I wake up and I wish I could sleep in, but I know I've gotta go out because the bugs are active. You don't need to worry about what other people think as long as you have the drive and determination to do it. " It's not the most glamorous career, but if you're passionate — that's all that should matter. 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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