Meet Your Grower
Meet Jack Toevs. He is a Washington apple grower whose family farming roots can be traced all the way back to the 1600’s in Holland. Over the centuries, the family migrated to Poland, Russia and Kansas before Jack’s parents moved to Washington State.
Jack spent most of his childhood in Ephrata, Washington, where his father worked for the US Government on the Columbia Basin Project which developed farms and irrigation in Eastern Washington. Jack’s older brother, Dick, bought a farm in 1956 and starting farming in nearby Quincy, but Jack initially had no plans to farm. Instead, he wanted to work for the US Foreign Service and travel the world. He obtained a degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Idaho, and continued his education at Harvard Business School. Upon graduation he went to work for Weyerhauser in Tacoma, WA.
After a couple of years there, he decided large corporate and government jobs were not what he wanted and purchased some land which included a 10-acre apple orchard on Babcock Ridge, just west of Quincy. From there, he and his brother partnered up and gradually increased their plantings and farmed together for 29 years. Jack has been married to his wife Pam for 41 years and they have two children, John and Katharine.
In 1996, Jack’s son, John, determined he wanted to start farming so Jack and his brother divided the farm so each of their sons could farm their own land.
Today, Jack considers himself “semi-retired” but still handles the financial and paperwork side of the farm while John runs the daily operations. They grow 9 varieties of apples on 180 acres, all organic. They also own 40 acres of cherries, 50 acres of juice grapes and 100 acres of Timothy Hay. Additionally, Jack and his nephew are partners in White Trail Produce at the intersection of White Trail Road and Highway 28, just outside of Quincy. They open in the spring when the asparagus is ripe and close in the fall with pumpkins. In between they sell all the fruits and vegetables available in the area, with a favorite being their homemade fresh peach and raspberry milkshakes.
The industry has changed a lot since he started farming, most noticeably all the new varieties of apples. “When I started, there were only reds and goldens,” Jack states. Keeping up with the new varieties, providing what the stores want to buy, consolidation in the industry and high labor costs are the biggest challenges he sees in the future.
A love of the outdoors and being independent is what attracted Jack to farming, as well as providing a healthy product people enjoy. It has allowed him the flexibility to participate in his children’s (and now grandchildren’s) sports and activities over the years. Plus, he has been able weave his lifelong love of travel into his farming lifestyle and schedule.
Jack plans to continue traveling, especially now that his wife has retired too. One of their favorite trips was traveling to Thailand and Vietnam with the WAC’s Thai representative, PT Poolprasert. Future plans include traveling to South America and more trips to Southeast Asia.
Pictured above: Jack Toevs with his son, John
View Archived Visit an Orchard articles:
Jeff Mills in Orondo, 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.