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April 13, 2018 CapitalPress.com 11 Orchard renewal plantings boost Cherry Hill Farms By BRAD CARLSON For the Capital Press Apple grower Daniel Row- ley liked what he saw as 2018 got underway: an apparently ample “bud load” on trees, indicating plenty of potential fruiting sites. “So far, it’s looking good,” he said. Rowley, 33, will have a big year regardless of harvest outcome. He’s the current chairman of the Idaho Apple Commission. He and his team at Cherry Hill Farms expect to see some results of targeted “orchard renewal” planting commenced shortly after the Rowley family, long-expe- rienced apple growers near Santaquin, Utah, acquired the operation west of Caldwell in 2012. The 2012-14 plantings are “starting to hit their produc- tion,” he said. “Hopefully in the next couple of years, our production will go way up compared to what it has been the last couple of years as these new orchards come into production and into maturity.” Cherry Hill comprises four sites and 300-plus acres west of Caldwell. Rowley arrived in south- west Idaho in 2010 after earning a master’s degree in plant science from Utah State University to go with his USU bachelor’s in ag business. He went to work at Caldwell Idaho Orchards, learning the area’s growing conditions and, with family, continuing to look for potential acquisi- tion sites. “We had our eyes on areas up here for quite a number of years,” Rowley said. Increased urban pres- sure in Utah made it tough to expand there, he said. In southwest Idaho, the Row- leys found more space, higher winter temperatures, fewer flower-killing spring frosts and a similar summer climate. Compared to its sister en- terprise in Utah, Cherry Hill tends to enjoy a greater num- ber of optimum growing days and produce slightly larger fruit. Rowley, his younger brother Jeff and their cousin Sean Rowley manage Cher- ry Hill, which grows apples, peaches and some apricots and nectarines for Mountain- land Apples. Mountainland is a grower-owned cooperative that stores, packs and markets to wholesale clients such as grocery stores. Cherry Hill grows Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Hon- eycrisp and Red Delicious apples. Daniel Rowley said the hardest to grow is Hon- eycrisp, which the U.S. Ap- ple Association in 2016 said was the fifth strongest-selling variety and fastest gainer of sales volume. “When we get paid, that is a good day,” he said, referring to Honeycrisp. “But the oth- er 364 days of the year, they are just a pain.” For example, their inefficiency at taking calcium from the soil leaves them susceptible to the Bit- ter Pit nutrient deficiency, he said. Cherry Hill aims to pro- duce higher-quality apples that grade highly at the pack- ing shed and can generate premium returns. “We are trying to have a good-tasting piece of fruit, but in addition to that, we are looking for color — a clean piece of fruit with no markings,” Rowley said. “We are learning, and al- ways modifying things to make them better,” he said. The crew lately uses plat- forms instead of ladders for more tasks, striving for in- creased safety, efficiency and cost savings. Brad Carlson/For the Capital Press Daniel Rowley of Cherry Hill Farms looks for buds in a Fuji apple block. 40 Acre Vineyard- Southern Oregon Plantable, with water rights, borders 4200’ of the main Umpqua River. • Pino • Chardonnay • Pine G • Temp • Merlot 5 additional 80 acre parcels w/water $2,000,000 rights available. 541.670.7372 • confluenceestate@outlook.com ONV18-3/110 ONV18-4/106 7th leaf on 160 acres plus additional 115 acres
