The Orchardist Who Turned Down $1,000 Cash and Bet on His Apples
A Yakima Valley rancher's careful spraying and pruning turned a pest-ridden orchard into a crop he expects to net $1,500 — so when a buyer waved a thousand dollars at him, he said no.
Charles Sawyer, of the California Hop Company's ranch, has refused an offer of $1,000 in cash for his apple crop. The fruit of his orchard is exceptionally free from pests this year, and Mr. Sawyer is now disposing of the crop at 60 cents per box, and expects to net $1,500. Great care has been taken this year in spraying, pruning and burning infected branches, and, as a consequence, where last year the apples were generally unsound, this season the exception is the rule, showing the excellent results of spraying and thorough care in ridding the orchard of vermin. — Yakima Herald.
“Great care has been taken this year in spraying, pruning and burning infected branches, and, as a consequence, where last year the apples were generally unsound, this season the exception is the rule.”
Before the valley was famous for hops, apples were the crop that made Yakima's name, and growers here were already learning that disciplined spraying and pruning paid better than luck. The bet Sawyer made — refusing cash on the barrelhead for a crop still on the tree — is the same gamble every Yakima Valley grower takes today against weather, pests and a global market. The difference is that a single orchard's gamble now rides on bins, cold storage and contracts that reach Hamburg and Yokohama.
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