6 | HONORING WEST SIDE AGRICULTURE THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020JENSENCONTINUED FROM PAGE 2he went to law school. Assoon as he could he boughthis first ranch, and stillloves it.”The family has pushedmore deeply into trees inthe past 25 years, Kirksaid, and is now “probablytwo-thirds walnuts andone-third trees.”Kirk introduced almondsinto the overall operationafter purchasingproperty between Newmanand Gustine in 1996.“I like almonds as well,”he noted. “In these yearswhen things are a littletougher you get some balance.”Kirk Jensen has continued the growth and evolution of a family farming legacy which dates back to the early1900s.The only row crops nowgrown are those plantedbetween trees for a fewyears until they come intoproduction, he added.Kirk said most of thefamily’s farming operationfalls under J. WilmarJensen, Inc. “I have someof my own ranches, we allhave some together, I havesome with my brother,” heexplained.In the 1990s, the Jensensbranched out by building ahuller on the original familyranch.“We kind of outgrew(his grandfather’s huller)and outsourced our hullingthrough the early 90s. Walnutstake a lot of care forquality, and it was somethingwe wanted to be incontrol of so we decidedto build our first huller,”Kirk explained.Patterson Nut wasfounded in 2001 after Kirkand Mark Jensen acquiredan existing walnut processingfacility.“In the last 20 years wehave been pretty seriousabout hulling,” Kirk said.Through much of thattime, the Jensens ran theircrop through the homeranch huller while usingtheir Patterson huller forcustom work.As the industry evolved,however, the need for anew huller became evident.Four years ago, the newhuller built by Kirk, Markand Wilmar came into production- offering morethan twice the capacityof the two previous, nowretiredhullers combinedwhile consolidating the operation.Changing trends and increaseddemand for hullingservices drove thattransition.“There used to be probably10 varieties of walnuts,with harvest spreadout from September untilthe end of October,” Kirkexplained. “Now there arepredominantly three, thatstart Oct. 10 and finish atthe end of October. Thefields are bigger and theharvesting is faster.“You can’t pile walnutson the ground like almonds.You have to takethem in and run them thatday,” Kirk told MattosNewspapers. “For quality,there is a timeliness to it.You can’t say that you willget to it in a week.”Walnuts coming intothe plant go through aprocess which removesdebris such as leaves andsticks, then a pre-cleaningbefore going through thehuller which removes theremaining green hull andwashes the nuts. The walnutsthen process througha pneumatic process calledaspiration which removeslighter nuts (which lackfully-developed walnutmeats), are electronicallysorted for defects, undergoinspection by employeeschecking for any defectsnot taken out in theprocess and are dried foreight to 24 hours to reach aspecific moisture content.“As soon as they aredried they are hauled outto the processor. At Pattersonthey are graded,fumigated and put intostorage,” Kirk said.Some will be marketedas in-shell walnuts, whileothers are cracked andshelled.“The shelling processis delicate,” Kirk shared.“Walnuts were not meantto be cracked by a machine.The goal is to gettwo halves out of each one,which is a challenge.”Quality is emphasized atevery step in the process,whether it involves walnutsfrom the Jensen orchardsor those being processedfor other growers.“I envisioned being aneighborhood huller andprocessor who people canput a lot of confidence in,”said Kirk. “As a farmeryou put a lot of trust inyour processor.”The vertical integrationof the operation includesa Jensen Ranch truckingenterprise, he added.While the operation hasevolved significantly, Kirksaid he does not see substantialexpansion on thehorizon.“I don’t have a lot ofdesire to be bigger,” hecommented. “I can still bemy own boss and have ahands-on approach.”FRANK B. MARKS & SON, INC.Producers of Rock, Sand & Gravel Products• NEWMAN •862-2900Supplying TheArea For Over100 YearsFarmers…We Speak Your Language!Genske,Mulder & Co.Certified Public AccountantsSaluting West Side Agriculture2101 L Street, Newman862-3760GARTONTRACTOR.COMRobert O. BurroughsJanae HoltDiane KerckhoveuSpecializing inProduction Agriculture4803 Sisk Road, Suite 201, Salida CA 95368(209) 523-3573
THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020 HONORING WEST SIDE AGRICULTURE | 7We TakeOLM SCRIPComplete Automotive RepairOil Change$42 75Plus Tax &HazmatFeeNOWSERVICINGATVs &Dirt Bikes24 Point Inspection, Fluid Top Off, Tire Rotation,Brake Inspection and Little Tree Air Freshener1996 &NewerSmog Check$40 75Plus Certificate887 N Street (Highway 33) • Newman(209) 862-2644HOURS: Monday-Friday 8am-5pm • Saturday 8am-12pm (U-Haul Only)FREE Wi-Fi & CoffeeWhile You WaitShuttle ServiceAvailableFala-se PortuguêsSe Habla Español
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