[First Lecture]Fruit farmers go to the United States to become the light of Taiwan and grow the ceiling of the peach world-Mirror Media

2024-08-09 12:28:00

2024.08.09 05:28 Taipei time

Exclusive interview with Wang Songlin, Chairman of Yixinyuan Fruit Farm

financial management

California is famous for its Silicon Valley, Hollywood and agricultural town. It has attracted people pursuing dreams of gold mining for hundreds of years. Wang Songlin, chairman of Yixinyuan, shouldered the hopes of his family 28 years ago to find opportunities, from fruit trading to growing high-quality peaches, Grapes have hit a price ceiling that even Americans cannot catch up with.

Yixinyuan was founded by Wang Songlin’s father. It used to be a small orchard in Cingjing, Nantou. The price was determined by the fruit and vegetable market. It suffered heavy losses in typhoons. Wang Songlin wanted to get rid of the high-risk farming life, but when he was doing business, he was rejected by manufacturers because he was too picky, so he had to buy land in the United States and grow his own crops to control the quality.

But he will not repeat the same mistakes, insisting on self-production and sales, and building a brand. Now he is the price leader, leading the whole family to work together, and realizing the American dream.

The orchard of Yixinyuan covers an area of ​​300 square meters and mainly grows peaches and grapes. Because it is located at the foot of the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains, the snow melting water in summer is suitable for irrigation.

The plane flew more than 10,000 kilometers and took 13 hours to arrive at the San Francisco Airport in the United States. It is still a 4-hour drive from Yixinyuan Fruit Farm in Central California. Wang Songlin, chairman of Yixinyuan, personally drove to pick him up and dropped him off, with a smile as warm as the California sunshine. As the car drove inland, the water vapor became less and the hills along the way gradually turned golden. Wang Songlin introduced it like a tour guide: “The climate here is Mediterranean. It is cool enough in winter without snow, and the sunshine is long in summer, which is very suitable for the growth of peaches.” “The shining California has been carrying countless gold rush dreams for hundreds of years. Wang Songlin went to the United States and worked hard for 28 years before he stood firm in the wave.

Yixinyuan only harvests peaches from Jianhong (ripened on fruit trees). The peaches are huge and plump, with a rich aroma.

Yixinyuan is located in Reedley, a city in Fresno County, an important agricultural town in central California. Almonds, oranges, grapes, peaches and other fruit trees can be seen everywhere on the street. In summer, the sun does not go down until after 8 p.m. , the daytime high temperature reaches 40 degrees.

Candy Snaps, the seedless grapes harvested in mid-July, have a special Yakult flavor and can be harvested after the peach season.

Before the interview, Wang Songlin gave the reporter a sun hat and ice water, and kindly reminded reporters not to suffer from heatstroke. “Although our summer is hot, the good thing is that the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains are right next to it. The snow melts in summer. There happens to be the most snow water here, which is suitable for irrigation.” “Tall and burly, his skin is tanned, his accent is mixed in Chinese and English, and he has no sense of distance from a boss.

In order to reduce the gophers that eat tree roots, Yixinyuan has built more than 80 suites for owls throughout the orchard. The nocturnal owls only patrol at night. (Provided by Yixinyuan)

Yixinyuan’s orchard covers an area of ​​300 square feet and mainly grows peaches and grapes. 90% of the peaches are exported to Taiwan, with up to 2,000 boxes per day during the production season, making it the second largest import volume in Taiwan. Search Yixinyuan online. The peach brand “Peach Fairy” has been dubbed “the best product in the peach world” and “the price ceiling”. Wang Songlin laughed when he heard this, “I compared native chicken and broiler chicken. They look very similar, but they taste different. This is because each step of the planting process is different. Ours is about 800 yuan more expensive than our peers, and it is more than twice as expensive as others in the United States.”

In order to reduce the number of gophers that eat tree roots, Yixinyuan built more than 80 suites for owls throughout the orchard to attract them to live in the orchard. (Provided by Yixinyuan)

Actually taste the flat peaches that are abundant in Yixinyuan at the end of June. The flesh is soft, juicy and rich in aroma. The orchard grows 8 varieties of peach, which are produced in rotation from the end of May to August. They have entered the largest Chinese supermarket in the United States, “Dahua Supermarket” and Good Market. The grapes are sold to the United States, Canada, Vietnam and Taiwan. Together with the cherries grown in Chile and exported to China, the revenue in 2023 will total 750 million yuan.

Peaches must rely on Mexican workers to climb up ladders to pick the fruits, and they must be manually judged to meet the standards before they can be harvested.

Follow Wang Songlin to the orchard, where huge peaches are sunbathing in the scorching sun. Eight kinds of eagle stereo surround sound recordings are played in the garden to drive away birds that want to eat the fruit. Owls, the natural enemies of gophers, live in a small suite at the top of the tree and are responsible for the night. Patrolling, farming in the vast land and abundant resources of the United States, battles of courage and wits. Before harvesting, Wang Songlin used a sugar meter to test the sweetness. “Pan peaches can be harvested when their sweetness is 15 or 16 degrees. In order to save money, farmers generally pick greener and harder peaches, which can withstand pressure only if the fruits are stacked on top of each other,” he said. If the fruit is picked too early, it will not be sweet enough. We pick it in the red zone. The fruits are not stacked and are sent back to the packaging factory when one layer is full. This will increase the picking time and increase the cost. “

The peaches harvested from Yixinyuan can only be placed in one layer in the basket, and cannot be stacked high to avoid crushing.

At around 5 o’clock in the morning, the Mexican team of workers set up ladders and carried fruit baskets on their waists to get ready for work. “Buenos Días.” Wang Songlin said good morning to them and began to explain the key points of harvesting: “There are a few cracks like this.” No, we select once here, go to the packaging factory, and inspect each piece manually. We don’t use machines to grade the fruits. We put them in the icehouse to cool them to nearly zero degrees and ship them immediately by air. Shipping by sea is too slow and will cause the pulp to dry out.” The NG fruits are all in a truckload, and they can only dump them if they feel distressed. Wang Songlin wants to be the price leader and no longer let his fate be controlled by others. This comes from his father’s painful experience in farming in the past.

After the peaches enter the packaging factory, they must be manually selected and graded one by one to eliminate cracked or bruised peaches with high standards.

Update time |2024.08.09 05:29 Taipei time

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