In 1992, J.O. Sims began investing in agricultural land in the USA to increase the company’s understanding of the fruit-growing process and maintain control over the supply chain.
Our first investment was a 100-acre apple-tree orchard near Quincy in Washington state, USA, where the planting, maintenance and picking is handled by the farm management division of Stemilt Growers called Stemilt Ag Services.
Since then, additional orchards have been acquired in the hills above Wenatchee and lower Yakima Valley, at Arrow Ridge (an organic orchard) and at Snake River near Pasco, making J.O. Sims one of the largest apple and cherry growers in the state with over 1,350 acres.
The orchards are at different locations and stages of maturity to take advantage of early and late crops. Besides apples, of which over 30% will be the latest varieties of Pink Lady and Sundowner, over 300 acres of cherries are being grown.
October 1994 - Monkey Ridge |
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We invested in part of a 1,250 acre venture together with other investors and Stemilt on land purchased near Pasco in the south of Washington State, adjacent to the Snake River. Our portion is 470 acres which includes cherries and apples. These are some of the earliest cherries in the state being harvested annually on or about June 5th. |
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Plantings of Pink Lady were some of the very first in Washington State. 90 acres of Chelan and Bing cherries with pioneering high density planting grow alongside 380 acres of apples including Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Red Delicious. |
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July 1995 - Over the Ridge |
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24 acres of cherries at the elevation of 2,400 feet in the mountains above Wenatchee was a very difficult and expensive site to develop, we considered there was a great opportunity here to grow late cherries. We have planted Lapins, Rainier, Stacatto and Sweethearts that are harvested annually up until August 10th. |
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August 1997 - Snake River Ridge |
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We believed there was a market for Organic Pink Lady apples so we developed Snake River Ridge as an exclusive Organic Farm. 95 acres were planted with Organic Pink Lady apples, a premium variety, making us one of the first growers of Organic Pink Lady in Washington State. |
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March 1999 - Arrow Ridge "Organic" Near Pasco, Arrow Ridge provides 526 acres planted with mixed varieties including cherries, peaches, apricots and nectarines as well as apples. All product at Arrow Ridge is grown and certified organic. The organic cherries here were the first planted on any ranch managed by Stemilt Ag Services. We will have 150 acres of cherries. Chelan, Bing, Rainier and Sweetheart to spread the harvest period. |
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April 2002 - Maranello Ridge A 60 acre site near Cowiche, Yakima planted entirely with the one variety of cherries, Sweetheart. This is an area not managed by Stemilt Ag Services before, and produces a late crop at 1,800 to 2,100 ft. In 2006 the cherries were harvested on August 1st. |
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For more information about our fruit or our properties, please contact us.