Willow Wind Organic Farms is a 650-acre blueberry farm in Eastern Washington, south of the Spokane River. It is a family-run business owned by Steve Walser. Steve’s oldest daughter, Galadriel, runs the greenhouse operation, his wife Margaret Ann heads up their fruit winery, and son-in-law Stan manages their hay and grain acreage. The farm has higher elevation than the surrounding area which creates an ideal environment with cool nights, minimal insect pests, and a blueberry season that starts later than other growing regions in the Northwest.

Willow Wind primarily grows varieties of blueberries suited for the late summer season.  The farm’s state of the art packing facility uses post-harvest technology enabling Willow Wind to extend their blueberry season by 2-3 weeks. They have a steady year-round crew, which expands to 30 people during the peak season.

Willow Wind’s blueberry program is relatively new for Steve, he’s been farming organically since the late 1970s. His first farm, which started as a ½ acre garden, grew into a wildly successful regional potato business.  Eventually Steve scaled back to spend more time with his family and returned to his farming roots in Eastern Washington. He set his sights on growing blueberries in 2008 and has been learning ever since.  After working on his craft for 50 years, Steve still loves farming and is immensely proud of his work. He hopes to pass the farm down to the next generation when he retires, including grandkids Chloe and Dominic, who work on the harvest crew when not in school.

In the summer, Willow Wind runs a 1-acre U-Pick program for the local community. The fruit winery is also open to the public for tastings.

Fun Fact: In the early 1980’s Veritable Vegetable was one of Willow Wind’s first customers, and Bu Nygrens was Steve’s potato buyer! The reunion of two veteran organic enterprises is truly to be celebrated as a demonstration of sustainability!