Featured Farmer: Monson Fruit Company
If you are in the fresh fruit business in the Pacific Northwest, Monson Fruit is likely a name you know. Eric Monson is at the forefront of the business and discusses how he, his father, and brothers started the company 3 decades ago. With a heritage in farming and ranching dating back to the forties, the Monson family’s dedication to Eastern Washington runs deep. Generations of investment in the cultivation of land and connections; this family has witnessed the area’s growth. With that growth was opportunity for change. And as the decades marched on the family business expanded to fruit orchards and more.
Monson Fruit was founded in the idyllic Yakima Valley, a land of sprawling orchards and literally tons of fresh fruit and produce. Yakima County has seemingly always been known as Washington state’s leader in apple production, but it also holds title of top producing county for squash, peppers, sweet cherries and pears. Like Chukar Cherries, Monson Fruit Company started small in the eighties and has grown. Eric Monson and his family along with Pam and our team at Chukar share a love of nature. More specifically, an appreciation and dedication to agricultural that involves the cultivation, nurturing and awaiting a crop’s fruition. Watching the bounty unfold and orchards change with seasonal transition is something we as farmers share. Chukar Cherries and Monson Fruit have something else in common, a specific orchard.
As you may recall, the idea of Chukar Cherries was fostered when Pam Montgomery was walking through her family cherry orchard. Years later, after Chukar Cherries began to take flight, Monson Fruit acquired a 100-acre piece from the original orchard Pam once walked. This nostalgic spot lies just 4.1 miles from Chukar headquarters and has provided that chewy delicious center of Cherry Bings and Classic Milk Cherries for decades. This special orchard is used regularly for photos and many of our Chukar staff drive past it daily.
Customer satisfaction is cornerstone to Chukar, and Monson holds the same gold standard in their business. Eric discusses how, for Monson Fruit, growing a beautiful product was something they had mastered years ago. But ensuring it would arrive to the customer in the same state it left the orchard was a challenge. So, Monson opened a packaging plant for their own fruit, then offered the plant as options to other local farmers. Now Monson helps hundreds of local orchards package their fruit at the peak of freshness and offers premium fruit to customers nation-wide. What began as a father-and-sons team growing fruit trees evolved to a multistate, multifaceted operation. Monson Fruit remains dedicated to the Pacific Northwest, and is still family owned and operated.
The families behind Chukar Cherries and Monson Fruit have a special history capturing the Pacific Northwest’s finest flavors and offering them around the US. Raised in this region with roots in the communities and lands we love, Chukar and Monson will continue to provide the best possible products to consumers for years to come.
