Farming the fertile soil of the Columbia Basin for four generations, our family is involved in all aspects of the growing, storing, packing, marketing and shipping process. Here’s a little glimpse at what life is like on Easterday Farm.
A trusted family farm growing food the right way for generations.
Our Story
At Easterday Farms we like to say “we pack family pride in every package.”
In 1958, Ervin Easterday
moved his family and farming operation from Nampa, Idaho, to southeastern Washington State.
From the early stages of planting to the final phase of packaging and shipping, you will find the Easterday family actively involved in all aspects of delivering you high quality produce you can trust. We are a family-owned and operated farming business. We believe that the size of our business is a unique balance between the economy and efficiency of scale and the attention to detail necessary for customer satisfaction. We are a proud grower and packer of conventionally raised onions and potatoes.
The combination of sun, water and mineral rich alluvial soil in the Columbia Basin makes ideal conditions for growing potatoes and onions. The land and weather patterns in our region allow us to carefully control water and nutrients to the plants for greater sustainable yields, reflected in the affordable produce we offer our customers. We use the latest technology in farming and post-harvest operations to produce onions and potatoes that are high quality, safe, sustainable, and affordable.
History
The Easterday family’s roots run deep in agriculture and the Washington State onion and potato industry. In 1958, Ervin Easterday moved his family and farming operation from Nampa, Idaho, to southeastern Washington, where he purchased 300 acres of undeveloped land in the new Columbia Basin Reclamation Irrigation project. With a meagre annual rainfall of 7 inches per year, the new supply of water from Grand Coulee Dam changed this land forever. As a young man, Ervin’s son, Gale Easterday, said he worked what seemed like endless hours on a Caterpillar leveling and clearing this new ground so water had access to run down the furrows.
The allure of “fresh dirt” was powerful and it compensated for the hard work and resilience necessary to make a successful farm. The tenacity of the Easterday women involved in the development of the farm is what really made it all work. Prior to the introduction of pivot irrigation or also referred to as ‘circles’, the early years were hard on those trying to keep tidy houses and clean kitchens and make this new area their home. The responsibilities of our grandmother, aunts and mother went beyond the house as they were the tractor and truck drivers, cattle-herders and water-changers when a spare hand was needed.
By 1979, Gale and Karen were the sole owners of Easterday Farms, with their five children helping work on the farm. In 1989, their son, Cody, became a partner and Easterday Farms was once again a father-son enterprise. Easterday Farms has now grown to more than 18,000 acres of potatoes, onions, corn and wheat. Gale Easterday passed away in December of 2020, the countless hours he spent mentoring his grandsons Cole, Clay, and Cutter to understand the farming operations has prepared them to be our next generation of farmers. Easterday Farms Produce Company was launched in 1995 to handle all post-harvest operations for fresh onions and potatoes. In that capacity, Easterday Farms Produce Co. manages the storage, packing, shipping and marketing of the fresh products. The packing facilities and storages are owned, managed and operated by Jody Easterday and her husband, Andrew Wills.
We have also partnered with our cousins - the Weyns family of Royal City, Washington. In addition to yellow onions and potatoes, Weyns farms grows all of the red and white onions for Easterday Farms Produce Company . Ko and Kees Weyns carry on the tradition of Ervin Easterday with their passion for farming.