INDEPENDENCE, Ore. — Farmer Brown Cherries was created when the new owners of the land got a late-in-life urge to become farmers after long careers as real estate appraisal professionals.

Purchasing land south of Independence, Ore., in 1985, the Browns — Jim, 80, and wife Anastasia, 74, who have been married 54 years — jumped into trying to make their property blossom while still working full-time with their appraisal business.

In 1998, they began planting their 100 acres to several varieties of cherries. Today, they have 73 acres in production and add two or more acres of producing trees per year to the land, which is surrounded on three sides by the Willamette River.

They also grow 10 acres of plums, while timber makes up the remainder of the 100-acre total.

“We didn’t know much about farming back then,” Jim Brown said. “We told ourselves, ‘We’ve got the elephant, now what do we do with it?’ I had been working 10-hour days for six days a week on the appraisal business, but we’d traveled the world and seen a lot and wanted something different. Now, we love farming.”

He explained that he originally got a contract for brining cherries, receiving free mazzards (cherry rootstock) from the contractor on which to graft Royal Ann and Corum varieties.

“Pests like nematodes can’t kill them,” Brown said of the hearty rootstocks. “They’re really tough.”

Royal Ann and Lapin cherries are grown for the maraschino cherry industry, though Lapins can also be sold fresh. Both varieties are planted in a staggered layout with a pollinator tree, in this case, also Lapin.

Most of their cherries are harvested by machine, he said. The process of harvesting leaves about 25% of the crop on the ground or on the tree. While liability issues limit U-pick opportunities, some gleaning is allowed.

The Browns also harvest some Bing cherries and an orchard planted to the tart Montmorency variety, ideal for pies, juices and pastries.

Finally, they have Sweetheart cherries, a newer variety planted in 2004.

Jim said he was one of the first growers in the region to plant Sweethearts — already-grafted cherry trees that don’t require a pollinator.

“Sweethearts get ripe later than the others and for me wound up being the better variety,” Jim said.

“Nobody plants Royal Anns or Corums anymore. Corum is like an orphan, like a Nash or a Rambler,” he said, referring to the classic automobiles.