ELTOPIA, Wash. — Jeremy and Zach Ward have been waiting three years to harvest their asparagus for the first time.

As new asparagus farmers, the brothers are an anomaly. State industry leaders say more longtime asparagus farmers are getting out of the market.

Washington’s industry peaked in 1990 at 30,000 acres, the year before the Andean Trade Preference Act began providing duty-free treatment to imports from Peru.

Washington Asparagus Commission chairman Travis Meacham said acres are now at an “all-time low.”

The state has about 2,800 acres this year, said Alan Schreiber, commission executive director.

“We had some fields removed, we had a little bit of planting but not enough to replace what was removed,” Schreiber said. “For 2 acres that go out, maybe one gets planted. Over time, that erodes our base.”

The Ward family raised asparagus in the mid to late 1970s, said Zach Ward, 24. The brothers farm in Eltopia, Wash., about 20 miles north of Pasco.

While in college at Washington State University, they remembered their grandfather had raised the crop, said Jeremy Ward, 26.

“We knew we wanted to come back and farm and we wanted to diversify,” Jeremy Ward said.“It was kind of our senior project,” Zach Ward said.

They crunched the numbers and made budgets, and researched several new high-yielding asparagus varieties out of eastern Canada.

“A lot of planning, years and years and years in advance,” Jeremy Ward said. “This field will be here for 10 years or more, so you have to be able to dedicate the time and the energy and financial inputs to be able to stay on top of it.”

Their father and uncle run the overall farm, but asparagus is the brothers’ venture. They’re also raising dry pinto beans, alfalfa, timothy hay and some corn.

Asparagus is about 15% of the total acreage.

The brothers planted the seed in 2022 and are excited to finally be harvesting.

“(They) jumped into the asparagus industry against us old timers’ advice,” longtime Washington asparagus farmer Gary Larsen said.

“We zigged when everyone told us to zag,” Zach Ward said. “They told us ‘Don’t do it.’ We’ll try, we’re young. A lot of the old timers have been in it forever, they’ve seen a lot of changes and they’re thinking they don’t want to continue, but this is brand-new for us. We don’t know any different.”

“We’re figuring it out,” Jeremy said.

Early start

Looks like the Wards picked a good year to start. Competing production areas in Mexico, Peru and Michigan are experiencing delays.

“Washington is the only one in the game right now, which is good for us,” Jeremy Ward said.

Harvest began the week of April 14, said Meacham, commission chairman and manager of Friehe Farms near Moses Lake, Wash.

That’s about a week to 10 days earlier than normal, and allowed for a bit of a boost at Easter time, he said.

Harvest typically runs about six weeks.

Potential tariffs on Peru and Mexico could directly benefit the asparagus market. All Washington asparagus remains domestic, Meacham said.

Right now, the price is above the cost of production, he said.

Labor concerns

Prices are pretty good, Schreiber said, but so much income goes into labor.

“Demand is high — high, high, high,” he said.“I just feel like we are trying to out-California California in our business regulatory environment. We have the highest minimum wage, highest agricultural labor in the Western Hemisphere. We pay more in an hour than a Mexico crew pays in a day.  If you add overtime onto that, it makes a very challenging business environment.”

Weather is favorable and there are enough workers.

“Some farms have concerns over quality of the labor,” Schreiber said. “They can find workers, but not ones who are experienced cutters.”

Labor is adequate, but on some farms the workers are very concerned about immigration, he said.

“They’re showing up, but they’re nervous,” he said. “If raids start happening, we may have an issue with labor.”

Learning labor

When it gets hot, asparagus will grow about 6 inches per day. The crop is hand-picked and hand-stacked onto pallets for trucking.

The Ward brothers employ a crew of about 85 field workers and five drivers and staff. The field workers have been keeping to about 40 hours a week, and 60 hours in the warehouse.

“In Mexico, they pay someone $10, $15 a day; some of these guys out here are making $40, $60 an hour,” Jeremy Ward said.

He estimates that the farmer receives maybe 30% of the sticker price at the grocery store.Farmers have restructured their labor, getting more people in and working them less per week to avoid overtime, Meacham said.

Labor has been the biggest thing to learn, Jeremy Ward said.

“There’s just a lot of irons in the fire, a lot of people to take care of, make sure everyone gets their paycheck on time,” he said. “People are counting on that and we want everyone to be able to make a living, that’s all anyone’s trying to do out here.”

The Wards deliver the asparagus several times a day themselves, via truck to a Mattawa, Wash.-based produce company, about 55 miles away.

They rely on the expertise of crew leader Laco Flores, a 40-year veteran of the asparagus industry.

“It’s been good for me; I’m an older man and they’re young guys, but they show a lot of respect,” Flores said. “They come from a good family. Mom and Dad are close to my age, and they’re good people. … It looks like it’s working out OK. We don’t know at the end what’s going to happen, but we’re sure going to give it a hell of a good try.”