Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/245704
LAST BITE Young Growers will be featured here throughout 2014. Tyler Harlington grower / Moxee, Washington Learn more at: goodfruit.com/yg. age / 26 crops / Wine grapes, pears, cherries and apples on 120 acres in Yakima and Tri-Cities, Washington. The family is planting more wine acreage. Q: Did you always want to be a farmer? " I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to get away from the farm life and go to the city. I wanted to wear suits and ties and drive a nice sports car and have a nice penthouse in the city. Now I don't want that at all. Q: What challenges do you face at this point in your career? " The challenge is just getting grounded in what I really wanted to do. I had two paths I could take: work for a very large [winemaking] facility or go down the path of an artisan winemaker, and have my own estate vineyard with my own tasting room. I decided I wanted to have a label with my family and one by myself. business / Sierra Vista Farm Management education / Washington State University, Political science. Walla Walla Community College, Enology and Viticulture other experience / Variety of internships with different wineries in the U.S. and Australia and helping his family to manage properties. title / Asst. Horticulturist, Asst. Viticulturist. photo & video by TJ Mullinax Q: What do you love about farming? " One of the things I love is how it's cyclical. There's a rebirth and a new beginning. You watch the process of fruit being born. Since you get to do that every year, you get to do it a little bit better. It's also a challenge because it's weather dependent. …This was the first year I really was involved in cherries, running a picking crew, helping with supervising pickers, working the strategy around handling a couple different warehouses, then having rains come, too. You have all these moving parts, and yet we still managed to pick a pretty sizeable crop and not lose money. It was stressful, and when it was done, it was fun. It's something I look forward to in the coming year. scan to watch the interview PLAY goodfruit.com/yg 54 FEBRUARY 1, 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com