Chuck Berry’s song, “It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well….” pretty much describes Bill and Angell in 1981. They load up their B-210 and floor it to Chelan to begin a life-time farming career. After four lean years on the Clark family farm with microscopic revenue, the couple and their new baby, Shyla, cut free and search for other opportunities. Eventually, they strike gold in leasing area orchards and have another baby, Natalie. With a passion for farming and organics, they incorporate in 1992 to Diamondback Acres, Inc. then became certified organic in 1995. At this point, the farm is at 24 acres that include four purchased acres of apples.

The farm has grown to 26 acres of apples – Red Delicious and Goldens. Everyone in the family is doing their part to contribute to the farm. Bill now has a dedicated crew and foreman to assist. Angell is teaching first grade in the local school district. Shyla and Natalie hone their entrepreneurial skills buying and selling Beanie Babies. On the recommendation from a friend, Bill begins grafting a 14-acre block in a cold canyon to a Minnesota variety called Honeycrisp. The apple variety thrives in the frigid location and people love the crisp, tangy flavor. Soon, the orchard is contributing significantly to the farm’s prosperity. Shyla and Natalie pack their Explorers for the university to receive some higher-level business skills. The farm continues to expand with more leases and land purchases.

Angell wonders if Bill has more fun farming. When this is confirmed, she retires from teaching to begin full-time work assisting Bill with the farm. Shyla returns home to participate as well. All blocks of organic cherries are struggling, so the family starts working with a soil scientist and mentoring with successful cherry orchardists. The farm takes on a 50-acre apple lease. With enthusiastic encouragement from Shyla, Angell and Bill upgrade their office at the farm from a closet-sized home office to a mobile mini. Shyla also assists with the hiring of a full-time mechanic and creating systems to promote speed and ease with farm bookwork. When she leaves for a graduate degree, Bill and Angell commit to the professional office idea now that the farm is at 150-acres, and they build a small permanent office.

Younger daughter Natalie returns to the farm with a business degree and a passion for all things digital and fast. A possible labor shortage inspires the farm team to bring workers from Mexico with the H2A program beginning in 2017. Bill and Angell create a new company, Glacier Fed Organics, LLC, to pack the fruit our farm Diamondback Acres, Inc. grows. The office moves to a larger house next door, and the old office becomes a fruit stand to sell fruit directly to locals and tourists in the valley. Farm leadership changes from traditional one foreman model to a contemporary leadership team. Two orchard/crew specialists share day-to-day supervision of the labor required to grow apples, cherries, and blueberries. Natalie facilitates more office systems and motivates staff to embrace technology in all farm communication. A full-time office manager joins the team summer of 2018, and the following spring a full-time horticulture assistant comes on board.

Glacier Fed Organics begins packing Diamondback Acres, Inc. fruit summer 2019. Natalie creates Chelan Beauty, LLC, to be the retail farm company and hires a full-time marketing manager to join the team. The farm is now vertically integrated putting our team in control of our fruit from our farm to our customers. People who buy our fruit know where it comes from, who grew it and how it was grown. They can even talk to the farmer!