Good Fruit Grower

46 OCTOBER 2017 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com LAST BITE More Young Growers at goodfruit.com/yg Devon Wade grower / The Dalles, Oregon age / 34 crops / Cherries and pears business / Wade and Rufener Orchards family background / After serving several tours overseas in the U.S. Army, Devon joined his parents, Gary and Marlis, at their farm in The Dalles, Oregon, about fi ve years ago. He's been focused on implementing modern cherry growing techniques to increase production and effi ciency. " " " " How did you get your start? I grew up on a small farm of sheep, goats and chickens, and I start- ed learning the business in 2012 after my parents purchased the fruit tree orchard in 2009. After high school, I joined the military and did that for 16 years and still serve in the Army National Guard. I went to college for a little bit and I didn't enjoy it. Working the farm seemed like a good fi t because I love working outdoors with my hands, doing something other than sitting at a desk. What challenges did you have as a person new to farming? It's hard work. I don't think I'd ever work this hard in a regular 9 to 5 job. From pruning, raking — all the chores were more than I expected. Before, I'd always thought that a tree grew, you picked it once a year and that was it. I didn't realize how much work it was to go out there and prune one tree, let alone 50 acres with 300 trees per acre. The rows of trees seem to go on and on forever. With no prior experi- ence in the industry, I had to learn about a lot of tasks that I've never thought about before. What techniques and systems are you excited about? A system that helps workers is KGB. That's my favorite system, and if I could use it on every variety I would. Just this past year we mechanically pruned the tops of our KGB and that cut the pruning time by about half. If you can chop the top of them off at 8 feet, then all the pruners have to do is cut the side branches off and remove any large branches, if that's how you are doing it. We are also moving onto the whole tree renewal method. We are cutting a portion of the block down so we can get good regrowth, versus removing a few large limbs out of the tree every year. For instance, instead of removing 15 percent of each tree, you renew 15 percent of a block. Just table-top cut them to 4 to 6 inches of branch — I've seen really, really good results doing that. You're waiting two years to recrop, but compared to the older pruning method, you don't risk reducing crop production on those trees over time. What we renew is usually the worst producing parts of the block, so instead of picking less on those trees, we renew it and have good fruit in two years. What would you tell younger growers? You have to have patience. The trees take a long time to grow, but the wait is rewarding in the end. " Being new to farming... I didn't have those preconceived notions of how an orchard was supposed to be. 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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