Washington's state's agriculture supremacy is rooted in its exceptional growing lands. Millennia of volcanic eruptions and glacier floods have produced some of the most fertile soils in the world. But it's the bold, imaginative people farming the land who have overcome tough challenges to transform the region into an agricultural powerhouse.

Six years ago, international competition, low prices and the rising cost of production spelled tough times for the state's farmers. Now, with many crops getting record prices, agriculture is taking its place alongside high-tech and aerospace as a key source of economic growth for the state. The sector, worth $34 billion in annual sales, now accounts for about 11 percent of the state's economy. The state is a major international producer of a wide range of crops, from tree fruit and hops to grain, wine and dairy products.

While most farms are still family operations, their leaders are college graduates, well versed in high finance, marketing and technology. Here are some of the men and women responsible for the prosperity of this increasingly lucrative industry.

DAVID WYCKOFF

Title: Chairman and CEO

Company:Wyckoff Farms

Education: J.D., Duke University

Dave Wyckoff heads one of the largest and most successful diversified farms in the state, yet he remains a mysterious figure. He left a successful legal career in Seattle to take over the family's Grandviewbased farm in the 1980s. The family company is now a national leader in the production of hops, concord grapes and mints for oil. The company founded Coventry Vale, one of the largest wine-producing facilities in the Northwest, and owns Milne Fruit Products, a major fruit juice producer. Wyckoff has served on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Economic Advisory Council.

DON SLEIGHT

Title: CEO

Company: Agrinorthwest Inc.

Education: B.S., agronomy, Brigham Young University; M.B.A., University of Nebraska

Pasco-based Agrinorthwest is one of the biggest diversified farms in the state, with about 60,000 acres producing wheat, corn and potatoes. Its primary crop is potatoes, most of which are processed into french fries. CEO Don Sleight is seen as a quiet but effective guiding force in the industry. The company fosters critical research projects by allowing scientists to use its farmland as a laboratory. "People would be surprised to know the amount of science that goes into producing seed potatoes," says Sleight. The company also works with local colleges through grants and intern programs to educate tomorrow's agricultural leaders. All of the company's farm managers are college graduates.

FRANK TIEGS

Title: President

Company: Baker Produce Inc.

So who is the king of Potato Hill? It's hard to say, but Frank Tiegs may be a contender. He is president of Baker Produce Inc. in Kennewick, a diversified growing and packing operation that includes apples, cherries, asparagus and potatoes, and now also includes potato processing plants in Oregon and Washington. He is already one of the state's biggest potato producers, and continues to expand each year. He recently acquired Oregon Potato Co., which has processing plants in Oregon and Washington. Tiegs has other interests. He is a co-owner of Western Mortgage and Realty Co. In 2002 he paid $33 million for Jore, a Montana power tools company.

George Finch is a Toppenish-based journalist.
 

JOHN UNDERWOOD

Company: Darigold Inc.

Title: CEO

Education: B.S., biology, Oregon State University, B.S., microbiology, WSU

The dairy industry is the state agricultural sector's second largest moneymaker, after fruit, and its 800-pound gorilla is Darigold. The membership cooperative buys and processes milk from 85 percent of the state's dairies. John Underwood took over Darigold in 1998, when it faced many difficulties, and put a "steady hand at the wheel," says Jay Gordon, director of the Washington Federation of Dairies. Underwood, who has been at the company for 25 years, introduced new products and marketing strategies and put an end to bickering among member dairies. He also introduced new storing and processing technologies.