LOWELL, Ore. — The mission of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery is “to build a world with better blueberries through exceptional plants, relationships, innovation and customer success.”

That’s been the goal of Dave and Barbara Brazelton since they began to expand from their humble beginning of a property with a 3-acre blueberry field that needed tender loving care. That gradual expansion has resulted in an international business with farm nurseries in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Spain, the Netherlands and South Africa.

The business now has 800 employees.

Quality is key

“The quality of most produce is improving and blueberries must improve their quality and consistency right along with all other crops,” Dave Brazelton said. “We have to bring varieties growers are excited to grow and consumers love to eat.”

Through research and trials, the company has developed many new varieties of high bush blueberries and now offers about 50 varieties in 1- and 2-liter pots. Nurseries were established in other countries to develop blueberry varieties that would thrive in those specific climates and soils.

The goal is to develop blueberry varieties so the fruit is available year-round.

“For the first 30 years, our efforts were almost exclusively focused on the North American blueberry industry, especially the western states,” said Amelie Aust, the Brazeltons’ daughter and the company’s executive chair of the board. “Our home region is still extremely important to us and we are committed to this industry. But blueberries have become a global crop, and consumers want their berries all year around.

“The only way to grow and deliver blueberries all year long is to have and grow different varieties at different latitudes,” she explained. “We want consumers to have delicious, fresh blueberries all year.”

The beginning

The Brazeltons’ 25-acre property, purchased in 1978, consisted of the blueberry field, a retail nursery and landscaping business. The blueberry field grew to 15 acres and during harvest Barbara Brazelton and the couple’s two small children, Amelie and Cort, delivered the fruit to consumers.

When Gregg and Becky Vollstedt joined the business as partners, Dave Brazelton had more time to focus on grower support and sales. Dave maintained a science-like approach to blueberry farming, collecting extensive production data on every variety and sharing the information with the industry. Gregg took on production responsibilities and Barbara and Becky did the administrative work.

When Hort Research of New Zealand made Fall Creek the exclusive nursery for its first patented variety, Reka, it marked a major milestone.

Fall Creek gradually became known for its development of high-health tissue culture nursery propagation and production systems. Its plant quality and uniformity became known throughout the industry.

Healthy boost

The health benefits of blueberries were also recognized and published during the 1990s, adding to the growth of the industry. The Brazeltons and Vollstedts put together an aggressive plan to continue building the nursery’s infrastructure and team in order to be responsive to increased berry demands.

In 2008, Amelie and her husband, Boris Aust, and Cort Brazelton returned to the farm after earning college degrees and working elsewhere. The grown children brought experiences from their work and international travels to the family business.

In 2010, the Vollstedts sold their shares of the company to the Brazeltons, allowing the latter family’s second generation to take on more key roles in the operation.

“Cort came with a lot of background in fresh fruit,” Barbara Brazelton said. “He brought a lot of practical ideas. We decided to go where blueberries grow.”

Cort had spent time in Chile and Mexico, Amelie had an intellectual property law background and Boris had banking experience.

‘Reinventing’ the company

“For us, it seemed like a second founding group,” Amelie said. “We had to reinvent the company as a group of five.”

That led to Fall Creek starting nurseries in other countries to research and develop blueberry varieties on location for those growers.

“Our goal is to try to grow better and better blueberries,” Barbara Brazelton said. “There are so many ways to improve blueberries. It’s a very innovative industry.”

Because of labor issues for the growers, Amelie Aust said the company is working to reinvigorate some varieties and to research new varieties so their quality of flavor and firmness is maintained when mechanically harvested, eliminating hand picking.

“We want to improve a berry’s journey from the field to the consumer,” Amelie Aust said. “I’m in awe of how all this has developed. I’m grateful for the journey, but it’s not over. We’re not done.

“I’m amazed that we’ve managed to figure out how to run a professional, competitive business without the backing of venture capital,” she added. “We’re a family-owned business. We’ve found a way to keep the magic in our core values, things that motivate us down to the folks who are potting plants. We have a passion for what we do with blueberries and our customers who grow them.”