August 21, 2023

Turlock Fruit in ‘America’s Heartland’

A flavorful legacy that began over 100 years ago, Turlock Fruit Company is a four-generation family farming business in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The company is renowned for its sweet-tasting melons, including cantaloupes, honey dews and mixed melons. Don Smith, along with his son Steve and his grandson Alec, actively participate in maintaining this well-oiled machine.

“I think having three perspectives on business from three generations has been to our benefit,” says Steve Smith, co-owner of Turlock Fruit Co.

In the late 1980s, the company relocated from Turlock, California to Firebaugh and has never looked back. In this region, they utilize drip irrigation to efficiently cultivate seven varieties of melons, asparagus, cherries, wheat and tomatoes.

Check out the episode by clicking here.

Episodes of “America’s Heartland” can be viewed on your area’s PBS station – check your local listings for exact date and time; more than 90 percent of all PBS stations in the country carry the show – as well as on PBS.org; the standalone app; “America’s Heartland’s” website and YouTube; as well as on RFD-TV. “America’s Heartland” is a production of Sacramento’s PBS KVIE.