March 13, 2015
CapitalPress.com
19
Fewels keep changing to meet new challenges
By ERICK PETERSON
Fewel Farms
For the Capital Press
Change is the only con-
stant at Fewel Farms of Pross-
er, Wash., according to its
owners, Scott and Josh Fewel.
Scott moved to Prosser
with his father and started the
farm in 1977, beginning with
beans and small grain crops.
In time, they moved into po-
tatoes and mint.
“We’ve done just about ev-
erything since,” he said.
Fewel Farms has grown
several different vegetable
crops over the years, and they
have also raised grains and
fruit. They have also raised
various ornamentals, includ-
ing pumpkins, on the farm’s
880 acres.
“We’ve always tried to
find a niche here or there, and
have looked to doing what is
profitable,” Josh said.
In so doing, they have
dropped some crops, such as
potatoes and mint, when they
were not profitable enough for
them. These two crops in par-
ticular, they found, required a
lot of land to make money. It
was better to raise other veg-
etables.
When they decided that
apples would also be profit-
able, they entered the apple
market.
This willingness to make
changes has led to a degree of
success, they said.
“It’s kept us around, any-
way,” Scott said.
Owner: Scott and Josh Fewel
Started: 1977
Acres: 880
Location: Prosser, Wash.
Crops: Pumpkins, watermel-
on, apples, peppers, aspara-
gus, cucumbers, peas, corn
Erick Peterson/For the Capital Press
Scott and Josh Fewel stand on the grounds of Fewel Farms in
Prosser, Wash.
But in addition to merely
sticking around, they have
expanded. They purchased
another 800-acre farm, which
is in Hermiston, Ore.
Challenges are numerous,
according to Josh and Scott,
and they complain of compet-
ing farms and of retailers who
keep prices down.
Perhaps the largest con-
cern, however, is labor. The
farm employs 20 to 300 work-
ers, depending on the time of
year. And it is often difficult to
attract all the people needed.
Wages for the workers in-
crease, as they are in demand.
They also go up with the
state’s minimum wage.
“We’ll be paying people
$18 an hour before too long,
I’m afraid, just to get people
up here to work,” Josh said.
Many other farms in the
area have hired people during
the off-season and have kept
them occupied until they are
most needed. This is expen-
sive, they said, but there is not
much choice for local farm-
ers. Fewel Farms has also fol-
lowed this practice.
“It’s been tough,” Josh
said. But he added that next
year might be easier, as the
year’s apple crop looks to be
small. Workers, who would
ordinarily flock to nearby
large fruit companies, may be
looking for other work.
Fewel Farms’ labor com-
petition with local fruit com-
panies is less of an issue
than with some other farms,
as Fewel’s fall ornamentals
harvest does not have much
overlap with local apples.
Blueberry and cherry grow-
ers, they said, have a larger
conflict with large apple pro-
ducers.
Still, the people at Fewel
Farms have sought ways to
mitigate their labor issues.
They have, for instance,
experimented with auto-
mated pickers. Though the
machines have not worked
well for them — as there
were issues with the size
variation in ornamentals —
the owners will continue to
observe new technologies.
Likely, they said, future
machines will do what is
needed and be gentler to
crops.
Until then, the farm will
continue its tradition of
change, increasing apple
plantings and whatever else
will lead to greater profits.
“We’ll continue down
the same road that we
have,” Scott said. “If some-
thing looks good to us, we
won’t be afraid to try it.”
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