Our Story
Grit, innovation, and a whole lot of family pride — that's what makes Jackass Mountain Ranch.
A Family Legacy Built on Hard Work
Third-generation farmers. All-in on cherries.
For more than 40 years, the MacHugh family has been all-in on cherries. Dave and Ami — both third-generation farmers — built Jackass Mountain Ranch from the ground up.
They met farming, fell in love farming, and one rainy day when the fields were too wet to dig carrots, they drove to town and got married. That spirit — spontaneous, tough, unstoppable — still defines this farm today.
Their four sons grew up in these orchards. It's not just a business. It's a family legacy rooted deep in Washington soil.
Prime Ground, Premium Fruit
440 acres along the Columbia River in Franklin County, Washington
Our orchards sit on some of the most desirable cherry ground in the entire Northwest — with blocks nearly 50 years old that still produce elite fruit.
Located along the mighty Columbia River in Franklin County, our farm benefits from one of the most geographically perfect microclimates on earth for growing premium cherries — warm days, cool nights, steady breezes, and rich, fertile soils. Our early Northwest harvest timing means Crown J cherries reach stores before peak season volume, delivering premium quality when demand is highest.
We grow four varieties the world asks for by name: Bing — the deep mahogany classic, firm, juicy, intensely sweet. Chelan — the premium early-season cherry that kicks off the Northwest harvest. Rainier — the golden showstopper with incredible sweetness and a stunning blush. And our newest addition, Santina — Burgundy Pearl — large, firm, and intensely sweet with outstanding shelf life.
Where Tradition Meets Technology
Quality is never left to chance — it's engineered.
Helicopter Rain Protection
When rain threatens the crop, our own helicopters hover over the orchards, blowing water off the cherries to prevent splits. It looks wild — because it is. And it works.
Steam-Powered Frost Protection
When freezing spring nights threaten delicate blossoms, we fire up our steam-powered irrigation system, warming water to over 100 degrees and protecting the future fruit — without the environmental cost of old smudge pots.
Four Weeks of Pure Intensity
When harvest hits, it hits fast.
Over 800 skilled pickers — sometimes more than 1,000 — help us hand-pick 440 acres of cherries over about four weeks. Every cherry is handled with care. Every bucket, every tote, every hand matters.
The race is on: within one hour of being picked, cherries hit our hydrocoolers. Within two hours, they're headed for packing. Every hour saved adds an entire extra day of shelf life — giving customers the freshest, longest-lasting cherries possible.
Packing & the Crown J Brand
Precision, speed, and worldwide reach.
In 2005, we built our own state-of-the-art packing facility to control quality from the field all the way to the retailer. Today, we pick and pack all of our own fruit right here on the ranch.
With Chelan Fresh handling global marketing, our Crown J brand cherries land on shelves around the world. When you see that Crown J, you're looking at fruit grown with passion, precision, and the pride of a family that stands behind every box.
Oregon Filberts
300 acres in the Willamette Valley, Linn County, Oregon.
Beyond cherries, we farm 300 acres of filberts (hazelnuts) in Linn County, Oregon. The Willamette Valley's mild climate and rich soils produce filberts with a sweet, buttery flavor — sold as whole nuts for snacking, baking, and culinary use.
Life on the Ranch
A glimpse into our orchards, harvest, and the land we call home.