Visit an Orchard
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My name is Jeff Mills. I'm 37 years old, and I'm an apple grower from Orondo, Washington. I live with my family on our orchard near the Columbia River. My wife, Kerri, is a fifth-grade teacher. We have two sons, Michael, 12, and Reed, 8. Michael is just beginning to help me in the orchard.
Our family's orchard is fairly typical in Washington State. We grow six varieties of apples – Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Braeburn, Fuji and Cripps Pink - on 75 acres. The orchard is a lot of hard work, but it's worth it. Our family is very proud of the fruit we grow. It's fun to visit the grocery store and know that the apples shoppers are buying might have grown on our trees.
My grandfather started our family's orchard. He came to Washington State from Arkansas during the depression of the 1930s to find work. As an apple picker and orchard laborer, he learned a lot about growing apples. He learned that Washington had the best conditions to grow apples, and he bought his own orchard in 1955. He retired in 1992, and I bought the orchard from him. I've been busy ever since.