| The Veliquettes have been farming for generations. Their family businesses, Cherry Ke, Inc. and Cherries R Us, Inc., are known for combining environmentally sound growing practices with innovative equipment designs and adaptations, resulting in beautiful, extraordinarily delicious fruit. Laborsaving hedgers and forklifts created from old pickup trucks are among many inventive ideas taken from sketches on napkins to successful implementation in the orchards. The Veliquette farms are also recognized for the great care and respect with which they treat employees—hundreds of people during peak seasons, and millions of honeybees. Every spring, in the dark of night, the hives are moved to the family’s blossom-laden cherry orchards awaiting pollination. When the bees have finished their task, the hives are loaded onto trucks and taken on a cross-country journey to blossoms waiting to be pollinated on other farms, in other states. |
