Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/418083
54 DECEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com O'Briens say innovation is the key to survival on a family farm. by Geraldine Warner B rothers Craig and Mike O'Brien say a passion for farming and innovation runs in their family. Their father, George, who earned a degree in electrical engineering from Washington State College, became a farmer in the Satus area south of Yakima, Washington. In the late 1940s, as the Roza irrigation system came on line, George moved to Prosser and grew various row crops, including potatoes, wheat, alfalfa, and sugar beets. When the Columbia Basin irrigation project was devel- oped in the 1950s and 1960s, bringing water to half a mil- lion acres, George realized that growers in the Columbia Basin could farm large acreages more efficiently and cheaply. That's when he diversified into cherries and peaches. As he expanded his orchard, George began to plant trees at higher densities in order to maximize pro- duction—a philosophy that Craig and Mike have fully embraced. "We had to change," said Mike, who loves to experi- ment, as his father did. "The most important thing to surviving on the family farm and keeping it viable was changing with the times." Mike, 65, earned a bachelor's degree in fruit and veg- etable production at Washington State University and returned immediately to the farm after graduating in 1971. Craig, who is four years younger, earned a degree in business administration from WSU and worked in retail before returning to the farm in 1977. Good area Craig said the bench where their orchard is located, at an elevation of 1,000 to 1,200 feet, proved to be a good fruit growing area. The business currently has 250 acres of apples, 45 acres of cherries, 55 acres of Concord juice grapes, and 25 acres of wine grapes. They have farmed part of their acreage organically for about 20 years and have almost 80 acres of organic apples and cherries. 'Change is guaranteed' PHOTOS BY TJ MULLINAX Craig O'Brien warned his son Chad, who recently joined the family farm, that owning your own business and being a farmer is akin to having a tiger by the tail. Diverse crops and organic fruit helped spread their risks, Mike says.