MAXWELL PR | Page 1
Oregon Cherry Growers
Website Content
october 10, 2014
General notes for review
Bold purple textdenotes page location
Bold text signifies headers that should appear on page (web developer should tag these as h1/h2 upon implementation)
Highlighted text is for design/development notes.
Underlined text signifies internal link, which can be updated once we have urls for all the pages
Home Page
Headers: About | Products | Contact Us | Member Login | Shop Now
Food Service | Ingredient | Retail | Grower-Owned | Community
3 Rotating Sliders:
- Grower-Owned, Quality Guaranteed
As a grower-owned cooperative, we ensure the quality, safety and sustainability of our fruit through every step of the process, from field to fork. >
- Branch Out
Cherries are just the start! Oregon Cherry Growers produce cherries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, marionberries andmore.
- NEW: Royal Harvest Dried Fruits
The ultimate snacking or ingredient fruit, our Royal Harvest line of dried fruits maintain the taste and texture nature intended, in any application you desire.
- NEW: Royal Harvest Natural Maraschinos
Enjoy guilt- and GMO-free indulgence! Royal Harvest Natural Maraschinos offer the traditional taste and crunch you crave, with all natural fruit and vegetable ingredients.
Boxes:
- Food Service
- Ingredient
- Retail
- Export
- Products
- Meet the Growers
- Recipes
- More than cherries > See what else Oregon Cherry Growers has to offer.
- Buy Now! > Shop our online store.
- We’re in the news > [Auto-populate with sample post]
Static content (under boxes, above footer/Instagram content):
We know our fruit from the ground up.Oregon Cherry Growers is a grower-owned cooperative of family farms, cultivating, manufacturing and marketing the finest fruit products since 1932. Today, our family-owned farms supply fresh, maraschino, dried and frozen sweet cherries, as well as blueberries, strawberries, and other fruits and fruit blends to distributors, retailers and customers around the world.
Footer
Left alignment:
Oregon Cherry Growers, Inc.
1520 Woodrow NE, Salem, Oregon 97301
Phone: 503.364.8421
Toll-free: 800.367.2536
E-mail:
[Social media icons]
Right alignment:
Have fun with us on Instagram!
Share your photos enjoying Oregon Cherry Growers products using #orcherry
[Import 9 most recent #orcherry photos in cube shape]
[Something to note with including this functionon the site is that you may or may not be able to control the photos that get pulled here, anything with the hashtag might auto-populate – depends on your site build—so be aware of that.]
Subpages
About: Main
About Oregon Cherry Growers
Oregon Cherry Growers is a grower-owned cooperative of family farms, cultivating, manufacturing and marketing the finest fruit products since 1932. What began with 700 fruit tree “rootings” brought to Oregon by covered wagon has grown into one of Oregon’s largest food and beverage category producers. Oregon Cherry Growers’ farms now cover more than 2,500 acres of land in Oregon’s bountiful Willamette Valley and along the Columbia River Gorge, with plants in The Dalles and Salem, Oregon.
Today, our product offering extends beyond cherries to include the broad selection of fruit the Pacific Northwest is famous for, including cultivated and wild blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and more.Our fruits are available in various forms, including fresh, dried, frozen, pureed, and more, ideal for almost any commercial or consumer application. Food service, retail, ingredient, or export – we’re there.
Oregon Cherry Growers fruits are present in the products of a number of world-class brands, as well as through distributors and retailers around the world. Products can also be purchased directly from our online store.
Learn more about our company, our growers, or our focus on sustainability and food safety.
About: Our Company
Our Company
As agrower-owned co-operative, producing the highest quality fruit is a family tradition for Oregon Cherry Growers. From handpicking to packaging, our members are driven to ensurethe best fruits and creative solutions for our customers, from field to fork.
We believe in sustainability, not only in terms of the environment but with regard to our co-operative, ensuring product quality and customer satisfaction tokeep our growers growing for future generations. Our profits are shared with our grower owners, which means they go back into supporting the integrity of our orchards, the safe and sustainable processing of our produce, and the research and development of new products.
We’re a solutions-based organization, with our customers in food service, ingredient, and retail looking to us for the best fruit products for any application. Explore our product offering, or contact us to see how we can work with you!
About: Our Growers[Include photo and play button/radio spot for each grower.]
[Do any of these growers grow fruit besides cherries? All the grower bios are cherry-focused, and it would be cool to include other fruits if applicable.]
Meet Our Growers
The world’s best Chelan, Sweetheart and Bing cherries as well as wild blueberries, marionberries,raspberries and more are grown by our very own. The Oregon Cherry Growers cooperative is made up of approximately 60family-owned farms. Many of our member farms have multiple generations involved, somewhere between the orchards and the operating facilities. For our growers, providing the highest quality products to our customers is truly a labor of love. Get to know a few of them.
John Byers
John H. Byers of Byers Orchards has been farmingcherries with his family for more than 40 years in The Dalles. His parents started Byers Orchards in the Mill Creek Valley with 20 acres in 1970, and today John and his wife Sandy run the now 205-acre orchard. They produce 17 varieties of cherries including Chelan, Bing and Skeena. For John, cherry harvest continues to be a family affair, some years recruiting the help of more than 17 family members to work the orchards, which he says teaches invaluable life skills.
Dave Cooper
Dave Cooper is a fourth generational farmer – his grandfather and father both were part of early cooperatives that formed Oregon Cherry Growers – with 300 acres of sweet cherries and 25 acres of pears in the Columbia Basin. One of Dave’s first jobs (in the orchard at age 12) was to record the weight of cherry boxes for his father. Those weight records were used to determine every pickers’ earnings for the season. Today, Dave’s daughter Stacey manages the day-to-day operation of the farm, and Dave acts as an advisor. As the current Oregon Cherry Growers board chairman, he supports the co-op’s efforts to invest in new ways to steward the land, test new techniques with cherry varieties, expand markets and support growers.
Dan Ericksen
DanEricksenis a third generation farmer who has been growing cherries in The Dalles for more than 40 years. After graduating from Oregon State University in 1974, Dan married his high school sweetheart, Kay Ericksen, and they established their own orchards.Today, they manage 90 acres featuring mostly early market varieties, like Bings and Chelans. Dan also serves as one of the eastern representatives on the Oregon Cherry Growers board and the Columbia River Gorge Commission. When he’s not tending to cherries, he enjoys spending time with his two daughters and four grandchildren as well as golfing and traveling.
Kay Ericksen
Kay Ericksen is a local cherry farmer and serves on the Culture Trust Board in The Dalles for Wasco County. Together with her husband, Dan Ericksen, they manage more than 90 acres of cherry orchards, including early market varieties like Bings and Chelans. While Dan tends to the orchards, Kay oversees the office side of the business, including payroll, recordkeeping and regulatory requirements. When she’s not handling the administrative side of cherry-growing, she enjoys spending time with her granddaughters, scrapbooking and traveling.
Greg Johnson
Greg Johnson started working on his grandfather’s farm when he was 13 years old. After graduating from Washington State University with a degree in Agriculture, he became a full-time farmer in The Dalles and eventually took over the family business. In addition to growing cherries on their 300 acres, they operate a pumpkin patch and raise dairy goats and pigs. Greg has been married to his wife, Kim, for 24 years and they have two children, Laura and Mark.
Gip Redman
Gip Redman is a third generation grower in the Yakima Valley and has been an orchardist all his life. For the past seven years he has served Oregon Cherry Growers as the VP of Field Services. Gipuses his extensive knowledge of the fruit industry and his degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington to work with growers to improve their orchards. He also serves on the Board of the Washington State Fruit Commission, which assists with cherry promotion both domestically and internationally, and is involved in both the Oregon and Washington research commissions, which help resolve problems growers face today.
Brenda Thomas
Brenda Bailey Thomas establishes fourth generation stewardship and management of the family-owned Orchard View Farms. She was born and raised in The Dalles on the family cherry farm. She is a graduate of Tufts University and a graduate of Oregon State University with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Brenda and her husband established, operated, and eventually sold a successful veterinary practice of 15 years in The Dalles, Oregon. Returning to the family business and named President in 2009, Brenda developed and streamlined the management team and developed the business strategic plan for the next decade. She has been instrumental in expanding packing house capabilities. Brenda is entering her eighth harvest with Orchard View Farms.
Megan Thompson
Megan Thompson has been a field representative with Oregon Cherry Growers for 15 years, and she and her husband have also been member growers for the past seven years. She works with area growers to facilitate maximum grower return and quality control. Megan graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Horticulture, after first falling in love with plants and horticulture due in part toher involvement with the Green Thumb program in Portland as a child.
About: Sustainability
Sustainability
[Include images of sustainability programs in practice]
From using cherry pits as road covers, earthworms for soil management, swapping out harsh chemicals for natural pesticides, and investing our profits back into Oregon Cherry Growers family-owned farms, sustainability is weaved into every part of our operations.The beautiful Pacific Northwest offers everything ourgrowers need to produce some of the best fruit products in the world, and we’re invested in keeping it that way.
Oregon Cherry Growers sustainability guidelines include:
- Protect and conserve water resources
- Protect and enhance soil resources
- Reduce waste through composting and mulching practices
- Reduce the use of pesticides, using Integrated Pest Management control methods
- Conserve and enhance wildlife habitat
- Conserve and recycle nutrients
- Produce safe, wholesome, high-quality food products
- Produce crops without genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
In addition to adhering to these sustainability regulationson our farms and throughout our product supply chain, we’re committed to ensuring the sustainability of the people who make our co-operative so special. Most farms are owned or operated by second- or third-generation Oregon Cherry Growers family members.
Our profits are shared with our grower owners, which means they go back into supporting the integrity of our orchards, the safe processing of our produce, and the research and development of new products.
About: Food Safety
Food Safety
As the leading cherry processor in the nation utilizing pasteurization, safety is a top priority at Oregon Cherry Growers. From harvest through manufacturing, packaging, and delivery, we provide safe and fair working conditions for all employees on our farms and within our plants, and ensure all of our products adhere to the strictest food safety standards.
As a business partner, we work with our customers in food service, retail, ingredient and export to develop product safety processes specific to their industry and needs.
Our food safety certifications include:
- Global Food Safety Initiative
- Safe Quality Food
- U.S. Transportation Security Administration –certified for self-inspection of export goods
In addition to holisticfood safety compliance at our farms and plants, our growers choose to participate in the Global GAP, a global business-to-business standard for safe and sustainable food production.
Every product we make is traceable throughout the supply chain, all the way back to the farm it came from. Please contact us if you have any questions aboutour food safety services, or concerns regarding the safety of any Oregon Cherry Growers products.
More than Cherries
More than Cherries
Don’t let our name fool you! Oregon Cherry Growers farms produce much more than just cherries. We take pride in bringing our family-owned farms’ natural bounty to market, including cultivated and wild blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, marionberries, raspberries and saskatoons, as well as vegetables like sweet potatoes, beets, squash and rhubarb.
[Include images/links to non-cherry product pages here]
Products: Main
Oregon Cherry Growers Products
[List of product subcategory links will appear on side panel once inside this subpage]
At Oregon Cherry Growers, although our namesake may be our flavorful sweet dark cherries, distinguished by the perfection of their size, texture, and color,our product catalog extends far beyond just cherries.
Our fruits include cherries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and more. Products include fresh,maraschino,and frozen sweet cherries, optimally-dried tart and sweet cherries, blueberries and strawberries, and a variety of fruit preps and purees. Whether you’re interested in our products for direct purchase, food service or retail, we’re accustomed to working closely with chefs and R&D teams looking for the perfect ingredient, that “just right” flavor profile, or the form that stands up to processing, shipping and storage.
Many of our products, especially those used for ingredient and retail purposes, are marketed under our Royal HarvestTMbrand. From our Royal Harvest brand, we’re proud to offer lines of non-GMO certified maraschino cherries and dried cherries, blueberries, and other fruits, made with all natural ingredients and certified Fair Trade sugar.
Products: Private Label
Private Label
In addition to our own Royal Harvest brand, many Oregon Cherry Growers products are packed under private labels other than our own, representing hundreds of consumer, institutional and foodservice products that we manufacture and package.
Oregon Cherry Growers can accommodate new private labels based on minimum production requirements and annualized volumes. Please explore our existing products, or contact us if you’re interested in working with Oregon Cherry Growers under a private label.
Products: Classic Maraschino Cherries
Classic Maraschino Cherries
Part of what makes animpeccableManhattan, Shirley Temple or ice cream sundae is the perfect maraschino cherry. What makes a perfect maraschino? It’s the signature crunch, the vibrant color and thetraditional, smooth almond flavor profile. Our foodservice customers also tell us it’s the highest percentage of stem-on, whole, plump cherries in every jar of Oregon Cherry Growers maraschinos.
Oregon Cherry Growers maraschinos are nurtured in our orchards, picked carefully and then preserved and flavored to perfection.View classic maraschino options to give your Shirley Temple or ice cream sundae that time-honored “cherry on top,” or see what’s new with our line of non-GMO maraschinos made with all-natural ingredients.
[Drop down menu for classic maraschino products, which will populate page with nutritional info for that product]
Product Name
Ingredients:
[List Ingredients]
Ideal for Multiple Applications:
- Garnish
- Fillings
- Toppings
- Desserts
- Sauces/Glazes
Available Sizes and Variations:
- List available sizes
Products: Natural Maraschino Cherries
Natural Maraschino Cherries
For customers who want to feel great about treating themselves, comesa natural alternative to the tasty maraschino craved and expected in drinks and desserts around the world. Our Royal Harvest brand now offersnatural, non-GMOmaraschino cherries in four different varieties. Stick with Nature’s Maraschinos for classic flavor, with hints of vanilla and almond, opt for a more delicate, fruity flavor with Golden Rainiers, try our Bordeaux Maraschinos for a sophisticated spin on the traditional maraschino, or buy our Pink BlushTM Maraschinos to donate a portion of the sale to breast cancer research.