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photo by nico dondlinger, mjr creative group in the Delta some of their property, in severe water reduction, or in the crippling of the local economy. "Depending on where the tunnels go, it'll affect our day-to-day business pretty severely," Matthew Hemly said. No one knows yet the extent of the project's potential impacts, but fears and emotions about the project run high. Many farms and homes have signs posted that say "Save our Delta. Stop the Tunnels." "We are in the crosshairs," Doug said. "What we've seen is how the desire to do something is more important than etting it right." g Mix Greene & Hemly's acreage mix of 1,100 acres is comprised of about 60 percent pears (Stark Crimson, Bartlett, Golden Russett Bosc, Bosc, Forelle, Seckel and Comice) and 40 percent apples (Gala, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Fuji, and Pink Lady). A quarter of the fruit is organically grown. Their orchards are spread out, with about 80 miles at the farthest point between ranches. "We take a scattershot approach," said Matthew. "The chance of a devastating hailstorm is reduced." Going forward, the Hemlys will transition their orchard architecture to adapt to new realities of plant protection and labor shortages. That could mean platforms and picking aids in the beginning, but, ultimately, it means an architecture that lends itself to automation, Doug said. "It's nothing revolutionary—lots of people are doing it elsewhere in the world, it's just not being done here," Doug said. It's been many years since siblings Matthew and Virginia thought the "smart" career was anything but arming. f "It's corny, but there is an elegance to agriculture. It's a noble thing to do." The Hemly family at the farm along the Sacramento River. From left, Virginia Hemly Chhabra with her children, Saya and Ria; her parents, Doug and Cathy; and brother, Matthew, with his wife, Sarah, and children, Sarah and Bobby. The family weathered a crippling period in the CaliDuring World War II, Greene & Hemly relied on women, fornia pear industry in the 1980s, amid a statewide canhigh school students and even some prisoners of war nery strike—the same year that they chose to launch —Doug Hemly to help with picking. an apple-packing business. "The learning curve was so steep that we spent 24 hours a day, seven days a week, sleeping in the office," Doug said. "We learned a lot about how the Farming gets you into a different rhythm in life than other occupaindustry ebbs and flows." tions, Doug Hemly said. "It's corny, but there is an elegance to agriculSometimes the tough times, in retrospect, weren't so bad because ture. It's a noble thing to do. You are feeding people. You're working in of all they learned, Cathy said. "The notion of just buckling down and an environment that is outside of your control. You can't fight it. You doing it—whatever it is—has stood us in good stead," she added. have to harmonize with it." Occasionally, there is pure pleasure in farming itself. Water "Every once in a while, you'll be in the orchard, and you walk out The Delta farming region faces the same challenges familiar to most of a row with your mind on something else, and you look across to agricultural areas in the United States—labor shortages and crop prothe next variety and go 'Whoa,'" Doug said. "The satisfaction of that is tection, for example. Also looming for Greene & Hemly is the state of something that you don't visit every day, but when it arrives, it's a very California's ambitious plan to build two 40-foot-wide water diversion personal moment." tunnels underneath the Delta, taking water and sending it south. Kate Moser is a former newspaper journalist who decided to return The Hemlys are deeply concerned about the plan's impact on their to and run the family farm in the Sacramento River Delta. company and on the local economy—it could result in the taking of • www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower SEPTEMBER 2013 25