Jeff Gamache Farms was established in 1935 when Jeff purchased a 30 acre piece of land from his father George. For five years he grew mainly vegetables until 1940 when he purchased an adjacent piece of land and planted his first hops.
Many changes and advancements would be made from 1957 to 1973 including bringing one of the first hop machines here to the Moxee Valley from California. In addition, changes would be made to the hop kiln making it the only of its kind and unlike any other in the world. Jeff believed strongly in producing quality products and pioneered an air recirculation system in the drying kiln which is still used to this day.
As the farm continued to grow, Jeff’s sons, Dale, Gene, and Lee, became an integral part of the farm operation. Later in 1979 Jeff’s oldest grandson Ed would join the farm. All of them have invested a good part of their lives in the success of the business. In 1980 Jeff finally decided to turn the reigns over to the boys but would visit the farm daily until his death in November 2008.
In 1991 Jeff Gamache Farms was one of the first hop farms to use sub surface drip irrigation. By 1997 they completed the conversion to drip farming over 580 acres of hops without a drop of runoff water leaving the farm.
Following Lee’s retirement, Black Star Ranch LLC was established in 2002. Dale, Gene and their nephew Ed would be the three pioneers of this new entity. Ed has been involved in Hop Growers of Washington from 1998-2006 and served on the Washington Hop Commission for many years. Nothing made Ed more proud than the year 2001 when his eldest son Ben would join as the 5th generation of hop farmers. Ben serves as an intricate part of the hop production managing both labor and operations.
Today they farm 750 acres of hops and over 300 acres of apples. Every year they continue to grow in acres and continue to add family back into the business. In 2011 they welcomed Ed’s youngest son Michael to be groomed for overseeing the apple operation of the farm upon Dales retirement. A few years later in 2015 to Gene’s honor his son Chad was brought to the team as Farm Controller and Accountant. Several years in a row their hops have been selected from blind selection processes by well- established and respected craft brewers. Black Star Ranch has also won many “Hop Grower of the Year” awards for Miller-Coors.
Together they continue to strive for the highest quality of products possible for their customers. Their core values of honesty, integrity, quality and commitment set them apart in this rapidly growing industry.