Tonnemaker Brothers, Inc. larger today than imagined

ROYAL CITY - When Kurt and Cole Tonnemaker decided to form Tonnemaker Brothers, Inc. in 1992 as a way for Kurt to come back to the family farm, they had no idea of the future scope of their venture.

The company has grown by leaps and bounds and has led to continuing growth of Tonnemaker Hill Farm. All of its fruit and vegetable production is sold through direct marketing.

"It was the only way to keep the farm going because it's so small," Kurt said.

Kurt was not part of the picture when Kole started direct marketing and organic farming in the mid-1980s. He was starting a career in the hospitality industry, for which he had studied at Washington State University.

During about eight years, Kurt learned hospitality was not what he'd thought. He found restaurants to be a grind and restaurant owners to be tough on personnel.

Kole and Kurt communicated often. As Kurt became more disenchanted with hospitality, he became more enchanted with Kole's idea of a partnership that would market the farm's production.

Kurt knew he and his brother could work together. They'd done it for years as boys.

"We were always together," Kurt said. "We'd come over here and work the picking crews when Kole was 13 and I was 10. My brother and I would get paid to rock (remove rocks) the fields. In the summer of '71 we picked cherries, thinned apples and hoed apples. We may have picked the whole pear crop by ourselves."

So it was easy for Kurt to finally say yes in 1992 to Kole's suggestion for the new company. Since, then Tonnemaker Hill has taken off.

During the heart of the season, Kurt makes 3-4 trips a week to the farm with his 34,000-pound GVW truck to load up. He has plenty to carry from the 126 acres of certified organic farming.

Tonnemaker Hill produces more than 400 different crops. Varieties of the same commodity are planted in such a way to accommodate a long harvest.

There are 20 different apples. There are 260 different peppers. And there are 45 different peaches.

"First it's the clings. Late it's the freestones," Kurt said.

"The hotter the pepper, the longer it takes to grow," he added.

Much of the produce, particularly Monday's load, is sold before it arrives. People who participate in a "share" program are waiting to receive it, prepaid.

Another delivery system is the 10-pound club. People can order 10-pound boxes of specific commodities.

Yet another large delivery goes to 15-20 restaurants. And 15-20 more restaurants pick up product at a storage site in the Seattle area.

Then there are the farmers markets. Tonnemaker Brothers participates in 18 of them, from Tacoma to Everett. The only day there is not a farmers market is Monday.

Tonnemaker Brothers hires about 25 employees for the season. Some work more than 40 hours per week.

The biggest farmers market occurs on Saturday in the University District. It can devour an entire truck load in about five hours and requires 8-10 employees.

Traveling back and forth, Kurt certainly can't manage all of this. So he depends on right hand woman Stacy Felure of Bothell.

Felure does just about everything that needs to be done. She manages the employees and the deliveries. She manages storage, vans, pickups and trucks. She manages the website www.tonnemaker.com. And she brings new, valuable technologies to the attention of the company.

"She took us into the 21st century," Kurt said.

What all of this means is that Tonnemaker Hill Farm can receive the prices it needs for its fruits and vegetables. And Tonnemaker Hill can hold commodities for later sale. Apples and squashes have sales seasons that last until well after the harvest.

When the cherry crop came in big in 2009, the price took a tumble. The Tonnemakers pitted and froze cherries that are still being sold this year.

The farm price that year ranged from 25-85 cents a pound while stores were selling for $3.50 a pound. But the packers/shippers weren't buying. Tonnemaker Brothers is still selling those '09 cherries for $3.

Fresh Van cherries from Tonnemaker Hill this year are selling for $3-4 a pound on the west side. At a warehouse they would bring 30-35 cents a pound. Out of the $3-4 retail price, the farm gets a 50 percent split.

Tonnemaker Hill cucumbers are selling for $3-4 a pound on the west side. They might bring 50 cents a pound at a shipping house here.

Kurt noted that he and Kole sit down each winter to plan the crops and pricing for the coming year. Often Tonnemaker prices are not the highest in the market place.

"We set prices that will bring the farm what it needs but prices that we know are affordable to the consumer," Kole said.

"We'd like people to come back and buy every year," Kurt added. "It took years to build the business we have now."