April 17, 2015
CapitalPress.com
9
Science backgrounds help organic farmers
By ERICK PETERSON
Sunnyslope Ranch
For the Capital Press
Wanting a peaceful life
where they could live near their
aging parents, Rebecca J. Hunt
and her husband, Jimmie Well-
man, found land in Wapato,
Wash., where they now own
and operate a 13-acre organic
ranch.
It is called Sunnyslope
Ranch, this place of 2,300
trees. They bought it in 2005
and grow cherries, apricots,
peaches, nectarines, apriums
and pluots. Apriums and pluots
are crosses between apricots
and plums, but the apricot is
dominant in one and the plum
is dominant in the other.
Hunt’s background was in
chemistry and Wellman’s back-
ground was in microbiology
when they lived in California.
In 2005, when they were
looking to leave their industry,
they started looking for land
where they could settle with
Owner: Rebecca J. Hunt and
Jimmie Wellman
Location: Wapato, Wash.
Products: Cherries, apricots,
apriums, peaches, nectarines
and pluots
Acres: 13
Started: 2005
Erick Peterson/For the Capital Press
Rebecca J. Hunt is the co-owner of Sunnyslope Ranch in Wapato,
Wash., with her husband, Jimmie Wellman.
their parents living nearby. Ini-
tially, they were not thinking
about being farmers, but then
they saw a farm for sale and
they started considering the pos-
sibilities.
“I thought, ‘How hard could
it be? Let’s be farmers.’ It was a
turnkey operation for sale, and
we just went for it,” Hunt said.
Some things were predict-
able and not at all hard, even for
her as a newcomer, Hunt said.
“Farming is science,” she
said. As scientists, they were
not baffled by the intricacies of
growing.
Still, she was surprised by the
stamina necessary and the many
hours required, but she said she
got used to it. She also became
accustomed to the various parts
of the job that are not directly as-
sociated with growing, such as
marketing, sales, transportation,
financing and collections.
The many different tasks
keep the work from getting dull,
she said.
The ranch had been organic
for 20 years, which appealed to
the new owners.
Organic farming is a person-
al issue for Hunt and Wellman,
who are adamant about health-
ful living, but it is also good
business, and the two issues are
intertwined.
A lot of people are interest-
ed in health, the environment,
sprays, fertilizers and more, she
said. They want more control
over their food, and they want to
know that their food is not con-
tributing to any pollution.
She wants people to know
that she is concerned about these
issues, too.
“We live here,” she said.
“Whatever we put on the trees,
that’s what we are breathing.
Since we live here, we care
about the environment. It’s also
a decent market strategy.”
Wellman said that he keeps
sprays to a minimum, just doing
enough to prevent mildew and
aphids.
“For us, the purity of the
product is paramount,” he said.
They do not have any aspira-
tions for great growth or change
in the foreseeable future. It is
enough for them, Hunt said, to
live well and in a way that bene-
fits themselves and their parents,
pets and community.
“At this point, we’re going to
do what we’ve been doing. It’s
been enough to keep us busy,”
she said.
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