FARM AT A GLANCE

Gebbers Farms proudly grows Washington state apples, cherries, and pears under the Joyfully Grown™ and Joyfully Grown™ Organic brand. We’ve selected a few examples of how we work every day to nurture, honor, and protect the planet, people and food:

PLANET:

27 million pounds of finished compost are produced annually. Composting is a safe and natural way to reduce landfill waste and add nutrients to the soil, which helps our trees grow strong and produce high-quality fruit. We compost mulched orchard trimmings, damaged fruit, and straw and manure from our cattle operations. Non-biodegradable materials such as rocks and pieces of plastic are removed from the finished compost.

1.01 million pounds of cardboard are sent to cardboard recycling locations. Because making new cardboard requires more water and energy than making new cardboard, we estimate that by recycling, we save 3.7 million gallons of water and 2.2 million KWH of power annually. Recycling cardboard also conserves forests and reduces pollution, landfill, and greenhouse gases.

PEOPLE:

6 generations of the Gebbers family have been rooted in the Okanagan Valley in Washington State for more than 130 years.

35 family members work on the farm today.

4,500 permanent employees and temporary workers are needed to operate the farm at peak harvest. They work in the orchards, packing houses, offices, shipping docks, and more.

1,000-1,200 people work on the farm during the off-season. These permanent employees care for the trees during winter and help prepare for spring pruning and planting.

FOOD:

Gebbers Farms grows, harvests, packs, and ships more than 10 different apple varieties, including your favorites: Cosmic Crisp^®, Sugarbee^®, Rockit™, Lucy™, Honey Crisp, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jazz, Pink Lady, and Red Delicious.

Our industry-leading hydro-cooling system can cool a cherry’s core temperature from 74 degrees to 34 degrees in 5 minutes. This is important because the sooner a cherry’s internal temperature is cooled from the orchard to the cooler, the longer it stays fresh and firm—just the way consumers like it.

In 2025, Gebbers Farms will celebrate 115 years!

Birthday cake photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA.