Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/466321
46 MARCH 1, 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER LAST BITE More Young Growers at goodfruit.com/yg Leah Eddie grower / Grandview, Washington age / 24 crops / Apples, cherries and juice grapes business / Fieldman for Apple King. Partner in family run Eddie Farms. other experience / Graduated from the tree fruit program at Wenatchee Valley College. PLAY goodfruit.com/yg scan to watch the interview " " " " How did you get your start? After college, I started working for Apple King as a fi eldman. That fi rst year I not only got the ability to work with people, but I also had the ability to make mistakes. There's only so much you can learn in the classroom and there's a whole lot more you learn out in the fi eld. What successful projects are you working on? Right now we are trying to develop our own way of training apples. While taking a shower, my husband actually thought up a trellis system that basically looks like a bird house. I didn't know about it until he put it all up. I thought it was ridiculous and it's right along the road and all of our neighbors think it's ridiculous, but it actually worked out. We're starting to get higher yields on our Honeycrisp. We reduced wind damage because of the trellis. What kind of stumbles have you had on your way? One time, we were going up a hill pulling a trailer with a fork lift on. We didn't have the fork lift tied down because we kept taking it off the trailer, while unloading bees. My uncle asked, "Are you in four-wheel drive?" and I said, "Well, no." So I slowed down to fl ip it into four-wheel drive and he yells, "No, no, no, no, no! Don't slow down!" so I sped up, and the fork lift fell off the trailer, went down the hill and into a tree. Now, for the rest of my life, I know ... I'm going to put it in four-wheel drive before I go up the hill. What excites you about farming? One thing that I take a lot of pride in is being accepted into the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation's leadership program. I'm so thankful that people gave me the confi dence that I can be somebody larger than I am now. I take pride in the fact that I educate myself, I have a drive, I want to be a leader, I want to change the industry. " ... make yourself a better person and a better farmer—then share it with everybody. by TJ Mullinax More from this interview and other Young Growers at goodfruit.com/yg.