Meet Your Grower
Meet Adam and Morgan Rowe. Now running the family business, these two young brothers have tailored their farm to be successful in the ever-changing fruit industry. However, they are not the first in their family to have this accommodating mindset.
The Rowe family emerged in the produce industry when they moved to Washington in 1889 from Indianapolis. In 1894, great-great-grandmother Lennie Rowe filed claim for 200 acres of “Desert Lands” near Yakima on which she started growing hops. Meanwhile her son, Walter took over 1,000 acres of land by Olympia, but this plot proved unsuccessful and Walter sold the land. Determined to establish profitable land, Walter bought land near Zillah where he grew apples, pears, and cherries. He was finally successful and continued to be throughout his lifetime.
Walter’s son, Charles, his sister and her husband expanded the farm over the years. However, there were difficult times and Rowe Farms was prepared to sell the business in 1969 when son-in-law, Dick Clements, took over. A year later, Adam and Morgan’s father, Buzz, joined the family business where he ran the apple and cherry orchards. 
He “retired” in 2009, but his sons say he is still in the orchards every day, even though he no longer receives a paycheck. “It seems like people are busy 24/7. What is life about? We live and we die?” Buzz said. “I think there is much more to life than that.” Buzz truly loved his job and did not regard it as work, but as enjoyment, which is why he’s content to “volunteer” on a daily basis.
His sons, Adam (34) and Morgan (36), now run the business: Adam is the president and “number cruncher” and Morgan prefers running the orchards. Adam said, “Picking time is the best time of the year. I like to know what is going to make us money.”
Rowe Farms packed their own fruit from 1959-2006, starting with cherries, prunes, pears and apples and narrowing down to apples in the end. “Back then, I could see packing at all costs. In my infinite wisdom, I have found that it’s easier at our level to let someone else do it,” Adam said, concerning the fall of smaller packers.
Rowe Farms now owns and runs several orchards in the Naches area. They have 300 acres of apples, 200 acres of cherries, and 30 acres of pears. They are very diverse, growing almost every variety of apples, including: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala, Cripps Pink, Honey Crisp, Braeburn, and Fuji. They employ 45 workers year-round and 210 seasonally. Adam said, “We have been blessed with good workers,” commenting on the fact that they have never had a problem with labor. However, they are not confident that this will continue into the future. “We’re trying to enjoy the good times while we can. Labor isn’t going to last with the e-verify” (newly mandated government regulations).
Both Adam and Morgan married their high school sweethearts from Naches High School and have families of their own. Morgan and his wife, Angie, have three children: McKenna (10), Colton (8), and Caden (3). Adam and his wife, Mandy, have two daughters: Isabella (5) and Emary (2).
View Archived Visit an Orchard articles:
- Craig Campbell
- Geoff Thornton
- Gene Bliesner
- Jack Toevs on Babcock Ridge
- Jeff Mills in Orondo, Washington
- Jim Fleming in Quincy, Washington
- Mark Stennes in Pateros, Washington
Learn about Washington Orchards:
- Regions
While our growing regions appear quite dissimilar, they all share ideal growing conditions -- weather, soil and water. - Seasons
Each season of the year plays a role in growing apples. - From Orchard to You
From pruning to your home, learn about the process for preparing apples for you. - Core Facts
Learn about crop facts, care and handling, pesticides and more. - Washington Apple History
In the fertile valleys and plateaus of America's far west, growers tend orchards that produce the world's best apples.