Family Farm
The Loewen Family and Blossom Bluff Orchards in Parlier.
Like many young people, Bryce Loewen, now 38, was eager to head off to the big city for college after high school. Leaving the Central Valley wasn’t difficult for the aspiring animator who was eager to taste life in the bustling Bay Area. “Initially, the idea of moving to the big city felt like an adventure,” he says. “And it was.”
Now a key farmer and businessman at Blossom Bluff Orchards in Parlier, a farm his great-grandparents developed in 1931, he says, “A lot of different things led me back here.” For one, city life had become stifling. More importantly, he saw an exciting opportunity to help his parents and sister develop a dynamic direct marketing program for the 150 varieties of fruit they grow on their 78-acre farm.
“I’ve been involved in some respect pretty much all my life,” he says, noting that his parents moved to the farm when he was only 2 years old and he continued to support farmers market sales in the Bay Area when he was living there. “The farmers market scene is a vibrant, awesome place to be,” he says. “When we got into it, it was still relatively new. I love the community aspect of it, being directly connected to the consumer.”
This direct connection to the consumer ultimately swayed his decision to join his family, and raise his own, in Parlier on the Blossom Bluff Orchards land, which has four houses. “We’re a legacy five generations in here,” he says, noting that he and wife Natalie are raising sons Archer, 6, and Jackson, 3, on the farm. “The people who are actively involved in the farm actually live on the farm.” Loewen’s parents, Ted and Fran, live in one house and still contribute to farm activities, while sister Renata occupies another and keeps track of farm accounting and payroll.
By the time Ted and Fran took over the farm from Fran’s parents, they realized their business model had to change from the traditional style of selling a crop to a packing house. They diversified their fruit varieties and began direct marketing harvests via farmers markets and sales to restaurants and stores. “My parents get the credit for making the dramatic change in what we farm and how we farm,” says Loewen, noting that they weren’t initially interested in taking over the farm when Fran’s father started phasing out of the work. Ted is a lawyer and Fran was a teacher.
As the craft brewing industry has skyrocketed, Loewen says, “We’ve found a strong demand for frozen fresh fruit for a lot of breweries.” He’s particularly proud of a relationship with Almanac Brewery in Alameda that his using their fruit for a whole line of sour nova seasonal blends. “It’s been a really neat connection for me to make. I’m a big fan of beer and it’s a great beer,” he adds.
At any given time, about 60 acres are in production, with some land left fallow for crop rotation. The farm is entirely certified organic. Kiwis are the newest and only vine crop, and are surrounded by a variety of trees that range from fall crops of persimmon and pomegranates to summer fruits like peaches, nectarines, apricots and hybrids like pluots and plumcots. Citrus crops range from navel oranges, Meyer lemons, grapefruit, blood oranges, kumquats and mandarins to pomelos and Mexican limes. In some cases, a crop may be from just one tree; in others, several are planted.
“The vast majority of what gets grown gets sold in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland,” says Loewen, noting a network of farmers markets, stores and restaurants where the fruit gets delivered. Blossom Bluff is also a popular vendor at the Vineyard Farmers Market in Fresno and The Market grocery store, and they bring fruit to The Gnarly Carrot in North Fork. The orchards’ website also offers dried fruit. “It’s the only thing I like to ship,” says Loewen. “Our carbon footprint is something I’m conscious of. I like the fact that we’re selling our fruit in a relatively small area.”
As summer nears, things are getting busier on the farm and Loewen expects his attention to turn to the task of harvesting and selling. “I get a lot of ideas in the off season that quickly dry out when summer hits and everything gets so urgent.” As for some of those plans, he says, “I’d like to get a little more dynamic about what we are growing on the farm. I’d like to get some animals. We have a couple chickens for eggs for the family. I’d like to get some ducks and get into egg production.”
The decision for Loewen and his family to continue the work and even grow it is one they all take pride in. “It’s hard work and it’s stressful, but there’s something special about it. We’re kind of in endangered species status as proper family farmers.
Blossom Bluff Orchards • www.blossombluff.com
