Don Grebb was born into a Colorado farm family who grew beans. Raised with a farmers’ commitment to the land, it wasn’t long before Don realized that farming would be his life’s work too. He began farming beans at age 16, until the Colorado hail storms that threatened his crops every year sent him in search of land to call his own in a more temperate climate. Don assumed that his sons, Tom and Jerry, would inherit his love of the land. But Tom preferred ditch digging to farming and Jerry became an accountant. So when the Grebb family bought a dry bean warehouse in Central Washington in 1983, they already had a ditch digger, a bean counter and a bean grower, and Central Bean was born. Under Tom’s management, Central Bean became the only Food Alliance-certified bean handler and processor in the country and continues to be renowned for 100% traceability of their beans from growth to sale. Tom’s success with Central Bean inspired him to start his own farm, called Haricot Farms. Haricot Farms provides the Grebb family with a means to experiment with sustainable growing practices. As such, it has successfully introduced a number of unique and environmentally friendly farming methods, including “no-till” farming for the premium dry soak beans canned by Truitt Brothers. No-till and minimal-till farming are the least invasive forms of planting and harvest since they leave the soil undisturbed and better able to retain its natural, beneficial nutrients and insects. Tom and the Grebb family are proud of Haricot Farms’ Food Alliance certification and the fact that it serves as a model for sustainable farming practices throughout the country. But their first commitment will always be to growing the best beans in the Northwest in the most environmentally –friendly manner possible. http://centralbean.com