Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/418083
48 DECEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com N either Craig nor Mike O'Brien likes to be in the spotlight. For the past 40 years or so, the brothers have been quietly dedicating themselves to figuring out how to grow the highest yields of the best quality tree fruit. Ironically, their efforts have caught the attention of growers far and wide and earned them the title of Good Fruit Growers of the Year for 2014. C & M Orchards at Prosser, Washington, has drawn visitors from as far away as Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa who come to see some of the most inten- sively planted orchards in the state, if not the country. Busloads of members of the International Fruit Tree Association made a stop there during their annual conference in 2011. Quiet innovators Good Fruit Growers of the Year Craig and Mike O'Brien, C & M Orchards Mike O'Brien looks over some of the different systems and tree densities that he and his brother Craig tried during the four decades they worked together on the family orchard at Prosser, Washington. Brothers Craig and Mike O'Brien have been testing the limits of tree density in an effort to maximize yields and stay competitive. Their innovative and inspiring approach has earned them the title of Good Fruit Growers of the Year. by Geraldine Warner photos by TJ Mullinax