Careers

Our Story

The Start of Something Big

AgriNorthwest’s roots can be traced back to the late 1960s, when water was brought to dryland farms.

Our Story


AgriNorthwest was born in 1968 out of the dream of three farmers to irrigate their dryland farms in southeastern Washington. The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company joined forces with these farmers to build private irrigation systems to bring water to the land of Walla Walla County. In the 1970s, land was purchased in Benton County. Private pumping stations brought water to the Horse Heaven Hills.

Headquartered in Kennewick, Washington, AgriNorthwest today includes two large farms in the state – one north of Plymouth and one near Eureka – as well as another large farm in Boardman, Oregon, and a smaller one in Ontario, Oregon.

Now, AgriNorthwest is one of the flagship operations of AgReserves, an international operating subsidiary of Farmland Reserve which has a farming and ranching legacy of nearly a century.

Our History:
A Timeline

1968

The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company (U and I) joins with a group of landowners for the purpose of developing irrigation facilities and a cropping system suited to irrigation farming in the Eureka Flats of Washington. That project includes 7,000 acres of land of which 2,850 acres are put under irrigation a year later by using water from the Snake River. In another six years, irrigated acres are up to 10,500 in this area, including additional land acquisitions.

1971

The first potato storages are constructed in what is now known as the Eureka area. … Also in 1971, U and I enters into an agreement to acquire approximately 52,000 acres of land in the Horse Heaven region of South-Central Washington.

1972

The initial irrigation infrastructure is completed, and water is delivered from the Columbia River to the Horse Heaven region beginning in March.

1974

Another acquisition adds an additional 52,000 acres of land in the Horse Heaven area.

1975

U and I enters the potato processing industry. The Boardman, Oregon, plant opened a year later.

1978

Due to a downturn in the sugar market this year and the following one, the decision is made by U and I to leave the sugar industry and turn its efforts to farming and potato processing.

1979

Construction begins on the McNary River pumping station and water is delivered a year later. This area of the farm is known as Plymouth.

1980

Construction of the corn elevator and drying facility now known as Grain Handling, Inc. is completed in the Tri-Cities area of Washington in time for the harvest.

1986

The name of the company is changed to AgriNorthwest. … During this same year, the Oregon potato processing operations are sold, and a long-term potato contract is established to produce potatoes for the buyer.

1994

AgriNorthwest starts construction of a 1,465-acre high-density apple orchard.

2003

A rail loop track capable of handling 110-car trains is added near Grain Handling, Inc., enhancing the industrial site for further development. Since the addition of the track, a grass seed cleaning operation and warehouse, and a fertilizer supplier have built facilities at the site.

2006

The orchard is discontinued, with a portion of it going back into potato production while the remainder is leased out to a fruit company.

2008

An additional 4,600 acres of land is purchased at Eureka, with 3,300 of the acres developed into irrigated crop land.

2016

AgriNorthwest purchases approximately 17,300 acres of tree-farmed land just east of Boardman, Oregon. Over the next 4 years, the land is converted into row crop operations under center pivot irrigation systems. … AgriNorthwest also purchases approximately 9,800 acres of land in two different tracts near Echo, Oregon. Water was originally provided by irrigation districts and wells, but a large project is completed which provides most of the water from either our Boardman River pumping station or a new river pumping station.

2021

Approximately 15,000 acres and a 36,000-head feedlot are purchased in a bankruptcy auction. This ground has been integrated into the Plymouth operation it is contiguous to and renamed the Riverbend Farm. … Also in 2021, sister operation River Point Farms builds an onion processing plant, storage, and a new corporate office in the industrial park.

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