Leo Sarmiento, a young grower from East Wenatchee, Washington

family background/ Leo graduated from Wenatchee Valley College and Washington State University with a degree in business administration. He is the son of Margarita and Francisco Sarmiento.
age/ 25
hometown/ East Wenatchee, Washington
crops/ Apples, cherries, pears and grapes
role/ Field technician
business/ Columbia Farm Services in Quincy, Washington

What was your introduction to agriculture?

My dad has been in the ag industry for many, many years now, and I’ve always grown up around it. My first memories are when my dad was one of the orchard managers at Wenatchee Valley College’s leased properties.

I’d always be out on the farm, riding around in the four-wheeler, watching guys pick the fruit, doing research and taking samples — that kind of stuff. My parents had been focused on good academics and maintaining good grades, so when I was a junior in high school, I took college-level courses in the Running Start program to get ahead of my college goals. I was proud to graduate with a four-year degree at 20 years old.

What interested you about going into ag as a career?

Funny enough, when I was studying, I didn’t imagine myself coming back to the ag industry. I went to school for business. I graduated from WSU with my business administration degree, and for the longest time I didn’t envision myself in ag.

When I graduated in the coronavirus year of 2020, a lot of places weren’t hiring. At that time, my dad knew some folks who needed help, so I started working with them as a business analyst, analyzing our preproduction sales, that kind of thing. And from there things kind of flowered: I dove back into the industry, landing at a local company in Wenatchee.

I worked there for a couple of years and got the hands-on experience I needed. I started serving in a fieldman type of role and working with our orchard managers, training them up and making sure they were to a level we needed them to be. And that’s sort of how I got back into the industry. It facilitated my move to where I am now, and I haven’t looked back since.

Has your education helped you in your job?

I think going to school for business really helps. It gives me an understanding of the fundamentals of how to run a business. You know how much you’re spending on labor, how much you’re spending on certain jobs, and really keeping an eye on expenses from a grower’s perspective.

It helps to see that we have budgets to follow and we can’t be too greedy here or there — or, when we have to make a decision to pick a certain way or prune a certain way to meet returns on the budget. The business and the farming is all interlocked, it’s all connected.

What advice do you have for other young growers?

I believe young growers should consider having a business background, and a bachelor’s degree looks really good on a resume when you’re applying to places. To any students out there who are considering stopping school or not wanting to go to school, I highly encourage finishing it because having a piece of paper with your name on it can open a lot of doors for you.

I also highly encourage people to look for internships because it’s a great experience to go out into the field and get hands-on, real work. It gives you your first taste of the industry to learn how things are, because reading about work is one thing, but actually experiencing it is a different story.

It can be kind of scary, but you should look for internships and put yourself out there. I think one of the biggest things is having a drive and finding something to work toward in the short term.

Set short-term goals that are actually attainable. Setting short-term goals really helped me with my schooling and organizing my time properly, because it’s very easy to get off track.