About Us
In 1911, Gerhart
Nickel purchased a vineyard 2 miles south of Reedley
and started farming. His son, Ruben Nickel took over
the farm years later. When Ruben died suddenly on
the first day of peach harvest during the summer of
1951, his son-in-law Louis Wiebe took on the
responsibilities of the farm.
In 1956, Louis planted his first nectarine trees and
began the transition from grapes to tree fruit. In
1975, he incorporated along with his son Gordon
Wiebe and son-in-law Richard Sawatzky and formed
Wiebe Farms, Inc. Louis has recently picked his last
peach and is now spending eternity with the Creator and
Richard’s 2 sons Kyle and Ryan are now part of Wiebe
Farms and plan on continuing as the fifth generation
of our family farm.
In 2006, 50 years after the first nectarines trees,
we have committed to another direction in farming by
planting our first olive trees. In 2008, we
purchased the California Olive Oil Manufacturing
Company and the BARI® brand. COOMC and the BARI®
brand were started in Fresno, California in 1936 by
Frank and Vito Pantaleo. While we have changed the
name from COOMC to Bari Olive Oil Company, the
brand, products, service, and family tradition that
have served BARI® customers since 1936, will
continue. Also in 2008, we opened up our Gift Shop &
Tasting Room and then in October of 2009, we
installed our own olive mill and began milling our
olives in our new Amenduni olive mill.
Since those first nectarines were planted, Wiebe
Farms has continued to grow and adapt to the changes
necessary to continue farming in today’s ever
changing world.
Great tasting and consistent quality produce have
always been very important on our family farm. We
continue to take pride in growing, processing,
and shipping farm products that everyone can enjoy.
We strive for quality in all aspects of our
operation.
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