Orchard View Farms (OVF) is a 4th generation family owned and operated fresh cherry business. Walter Bailey and Mabel Bailey established OVF in 1923. The initial business base was processing cherries. According to records kept by "Grandpa," the farm produced 18 tons of white cherries and six tons of black during its first season. Walter's son Don and his wife Edwina joined the business prior to 1940. Don and Edwina planted additional orchard acreage and in the 1980's oversaw the construction of a cold storage plant and apple and fresh cherry packing lines. Don and Edwina's sons Bob, Ken, Tom and Jon worked together to bring planted acreage to over 1,000 acres and cherry production to over 3,000 tons per year by 2000. Now Bob's daughter Brenda Thomas and nephew David Ortega, along with a management team, over see 2000 acres and pack 10,000 tons of cherries a year.

From left to right back; Bob Bailey, Brenda Thomas, Tom Bailey,
Bottom; Elisabeth Bailey Nisley, Bridget Bailey .

Current Operations - Today brothers Bob (Chairman of the Board) and Ken (Vice President) together with Bob's daughter Brenda (President), farm 2,000 acres of fruit trees.

Under Horticultural Manager Eric Shrum, our fresh cherry production base focuses on varieties such as Bing, Chelan, Gibraltar, Lapin, Rainier, Regina and Sweetheart. Mike Carter, Facilities Manager, and David Ortega, Production Manager, work to pack fresh cherries on three lines.

Kurt Harter, Controller, Windi Hunting, Human Resourses Manager, and David Cunningham, Information Systems Specialist work to manage business growth. Our packing facility is open for guided tours, and cherries are available for retail at the farm.

Orchard View licenses View Fresh, a patented cherry packing technology developed by Don Bailey, to cherry packinghouses worldwide. Ryan Durow travels to Chile during the south american cherry season as View Fresh manager and Patti Elliott serves as View Fresh account executive. Cherries sealed in View Fresh maintain freshness and taste for over 35 days after packing. This "shelf life" extends our marketing window and allows export by boat to Taiwan, Thailand the United Kingdom, and potentially Australia.

We employ approximately 80 year-round staff and approximately 700 seasonal staff for cherry harvest. As a licensed farm labor contractor, we custom harvest for selected growers.

Innovative Practices - Our mission is to produce and pack premium and profitable dark sweet and blush fresh cherries. To accomplish our goal, we implement the following sustainable practices:
Production Areas: To extend our harvest season, and thus better utilize the capacity of our packing facility and lessen impact of detrimental frosts and rains, we maintain cherry orchards at varying elevations near The Dalles, Oregon. The lowest orchard is in Dallesport, an area adjacent to the Columbia River in Washington State, where acreage is at 200 feet above sea level. Our Dufur area orchards are located in the foothills of Mt. Hood at 1,800 feet. We planted a late production cherry orchard "Alpine View", in Parkdale, Oregon in 2004. We planted a 200 acre cherry orchard, "Wasco View", in Wasco, Oregon in 2006 and 2007.

Replanting: For sustainability in the marketplace, we replant at least 50 acres per year. This practice allows us to bring tree age to less than 25 years. Trees less than 25 years of age generally produce larger cherries, firmer cherries and greater tonnage. Young trees are worker friendly because they are safe and efficient to prune and pick. Additionally, replanting allows implementation of new varieties and higher density plantings. New varieties of cherries are placed on sites with favorable drainage, lack of wind and good soils. These higher density trees are then trained for favorable air and light penetration.
Rootstock and Variety Selection: We select new cherry rootstocks and varieties that 1) mature earlier or later in the season to lengthen our harvest and marketing window, 2) produce large firm cherries, 3) allow efficient and safe harvesting and 4) facilitate effective pest control.

Production Practices to Enhance Quality and Marketing Opportunity: Cherries are handpicked with minimal handling following a well-defined schedule of irrigation. Cherries are hydro-cooled in the orchard, carefully sorted for quality, and then sealed within a modified atmosphere system (e.g. "MAP") called View Fresh. We implement best farming and packing practices for quality and for food safety certification. Our orchards and packinghouse are Nature's Choice, Eurepgap and Food Alliance certified. We also successfully implemented an ozone water treatment system to eliminate the use of chlorine in our fresh cherry packing line.

It's July, it must be time for those Golden Rainiers

Food Alliance Certification

Food Safety Innovation

Family Farm and Sustainability