In a recent conversation with AgNet West’s Nick Papagni, Daniel Jackson of Family Tree Farms shared the powerful origin story behind one of the largest grower-packer-shippers of stone fruit and blueberries in the world. The journey began during the Great Depression when Jackson’s grandfather, Herschel, left Tennessee in search of better wages in California’s Central Valley.
“He followed one of his brothers out here because he could make $0.25 an hour versus $0.10 working in gravel pits building roads,” Jackson said.
Herschel initially found work managing mule teams in vineyards, laboring for the well-known Zaninovich family. After a year, he saved enough money to send for his wife and start a new life in Orosi. Eventually, the Jackson family moved to Kingsburg, establishing roots that have grown into today’s Family Tree Farms.
“That’s kind of the start of the Jackson family in the San Joaquin Valley,” Jackson said, noting that multiple generations have since graduated from Kingsburg High School.
This multigenerational story stands as a testament to perseverance, hard work, and agricultural tradition—a legacy still thriving in California’s fertile ground.