ORONDO, WA - Auvil Fruit Company has grown in leaps and bounds in the past year, with improvement in orchard operations being one of the company’s top areas of focus. The man at the head of those operational improvements is the company’s President of Orchard Management, Del Feigal.

Since joining Auvil Fruit in 1994, Del has been one of the primary forces keeping the company’s orchard’s at the forefront of grower technology, something the grower says he truly loves about his work there.

“Auvil has always had a history of being innovative in the industry from way back,” Del tells me. “Auvil was one the first to put its trees on trellis, the first to plan speaker systems, the first to use orchard grafts. They’ve always been a pioneer of techniques, which was awesome for me because I love finding new ways to tinker with the trees to maximize the quality and the quantity of the fruit. Auvil has given me the opportunity to do that.”

Del’s twenty-two years of innovation at Auvil aren’t his first forays into the produce industry either. Born and raised in east Wenatchee, Del grew up on his father’s cherry and apple hobby farm, inspiring him to go into managing orchards right after college and further working as a Field Consultant and then at Wenatchee's G.S. Long Co. doing chemical sales. 

However, Del’s heart wasn’t in the office, but instead belonged in the orchard’s he had grown to love as a child. That’s when he approached Auvil Fruit Company and began his tenure at the company’s Vantage, Washington-based ranch. That’s where Del’s passion for creating bigger and better growing techniques really took off like a rocket.

“At Auvil, Del is both our horsepower and our brain power out in the orchard. He walks the walk in the orchard so that the rest of the family can have time to talk the talk to our customers,” says Lee Arthur, the company’s Director of Brand Strategy and Marketing. “In-house we say that the Gee Whiz logo is our North Star for our brand. Well, Del is our Flavor Compass when it comes to the experience we deliver each day.”

The main point I get from talking with Del, is that under his leadership in the orchard, Auvil has been pushed to make big moves that other growers might not be willing to take.

“I remember bringing growers from California through the ranch during harvest, and they were amazed that we had our trees on trellis and were spending the extra time to train them and thin them. They were shocked at how much effort we were putting into our fruit quality,” Del notes. “Auvil has the philosophy of spending money to make money. You need to make investments to produce the best possible eating quality, and that’s where our investments are right now. A lot of growers will try to save a dime here or there, but the product just doesn't end up with the same quality of fruit.”

Other investments being made by Del and Auvil include building a system that will heat the orchard’s soil, developing new varieties with great eating quality, and the company’s longtime program, applying protective cloth to the company’s entire orchard.

“At our Vantage ranch we’ve been working with protective cloth, also known as shade cloth or hail nets,” Del explains. “Right now we have our whole orchard covered, which I think makes us the largest U.S. orchard to do so. We’re protected from things like wind, sun, hails, and birds, and we continue to cover more acreage every year. After working on this for over 22 years now, we’re just perfecting it at this point. I believe in it strongly, and now everyone is starting to do the same.” 

From what we at AndNowUKnow can see, Del and Auvil are just getting started in the realm of orchard innovation. We’re certainly interested in seeing what the dynamic combination will bring to the table next.

Auvil Fruit Company