September 2023 - 12

GROWER PROFILE
Mature cherry and apple trees can grow to 14 feet and
higher, and some insurance companies might not insure
workers picking that high. Total tree renewal seems to be
the only way to rejuvenate KGB orchards. Most growers
choose to abandon the KGB system, and prune back to
a " steep leader " orchard orientation to remain 100% in
production, Murray said.
Berry challenges
Blueberries require many efficiencies of scale.
Steve Murray of Murray
Family Farms on an area
landmark hill. Cherries are
the farm's signature crop.
" You are seeing a lot of growers trying to get shorter
orchards, " Murray said. " Everybody is looking at ways
that they can try to reduce labor. You can see the
mechanization of harvesting a lot of different kinds of
fruit. I don't see anything on the horizon that's going to
promote mechanically harvested cherries. "
Because mechanical harvesting can lead to soft fruit
being packed, Murray hand harvests, which commands
premium prices.
" You can almost not afford to handpick blueberries, "
Murray said.
Blueberries require lower soil pH values than the high
levels found in the desert's alkaline soil.
" Blueberries all come down to your soil, " Murray said.
" It's the pH and you must master that through organic
supplements that lower your soil acidity. That's the whole
thing with blueberries, and renewing your wood. "
About 40% of Murray's production is organic, with
some crops solely sold directly to consumers as organic.
The process of organic farming can be more frustrating
than conventional because it isn't as efficient and involves
more work, Murray said. Because of unfavorable winters
with a lack of proper chill hours as well as damage from
birds and SWD, Murray Family Farms didn't harvest the
first four years of organic production.
Smaller farming operations can pay more attention
to detail.
" One of the things my father said was 'the best fertilizer
is the growers' footprint,' " Murray said. " If you can go out
and walk the fields and look at the trees and be engaged,
even though we have modernized our ways of measuring
soil moisture, the temperatures and the degree days to
know what's coming at you, there's no substitute for being
out in the middle of it. "
Major cherry crop hurdles include X-disease and little
cherry virus. When the Murrays started farming, the
biggest insect challenge was hordes of grasshoppers
leaving the foothills, so many that roads turned yellow
from vehicles running over them. Murray said he sees
fewer sightings of fungi, rot and mold.
While many farmers are highly isolated in their
businesses, Murray's farm sees thousands of people
visiting for agritourism and u-pick offerings. They sell
at multiple farmers markets throughout the season, but
their main sites of commerce, the rural Bakersfield Big
Red Barn and Little Purple Barn, feature fruit picking and
fresh baked goods at both sites.
" The great joy of mine is to improve the quality of
people's lives, " he said. " This is closing the loop on a
childhood dream on what I studied in school and did in my
life, as opposed to blundering into it or inheriting it. "
12 | SEPTEMBER 2023
http://www.peachridge.com
September 2023

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