About Us
Family Roots
Bert began Stull Ranches after retiring from working as a chemist for 30 years. He’d wanted to be a citrus farmer ever since he was a child, as his grandfather had a citrus ranch in Filmore. Every day after school he’d walk out to the 16-acre ranch to help with the trees.
With just 16 acres of lemons, Grandpa White was able to make a good living, supporting his family and putting 2 of his daughters through college.
Beginnings: Lane Lates
Stull Ranches began in 1997 with 42 acres in the heart of California’s central valley just outside of Fresno.
The property came with plums, which Bert changed out to citrus.
The first groves were Lane Lates, a strategic niche of fruit that ripened after the main orange season.
The start of a trend: FW Murcotts
Several years later, the ranch expanded 54 more acres. A fellow local farmer, Tom Mulholland, was the first rancher to bring the FW Murcott variety of mandarines to central valley. Bert took a chance on them and planted 28 acres of Murcotts. They were an instant hit.
Tom Mulholland started planting Murcotts in 1999 just a couple years earlier. They were a delightful fruit he got from Europe. He began propagating them here, developed the brand, and they took off like crazy.
This very tasty (with the perfect balance of acid and sugar), easy to peel, convenient snack size citrus made them very popular. Contributing to that popularity, the brands of Cuties and Halo began packing these mandarins.
Stull Ranches was one of the first ranches to grow Murcotts in the United States.
Expansion: Tango
Then about 6 years later, Bert expanded Stull Ranches to include Tangos.
The Tango is a Murcott that the University of California cultivated. They irradiated the seeds so it does not produce seeds. After 10 years of experimenting and developing, they started producing and selling the Tangos. Tangos can only be grown from Tango tree cuttings.
The fruit is almost as tasty Murcotts, and now days if your fruit has seeds, people don’t want it.
FW Murcotts have to be isolated and protected from bees to keep a seedless fruit. Even though a rancher may do everything possible to keep bees out, there is nothing to prevent bee keepers to set up hives in neighboring properties, thereby ruining Murcott crops.
Growing Tangos eliminates this issue.
Newest addition: Cara Cara and Page
Several years ago Stull Ranches added the Cara Cara Navel oranges, known for its pink flesh. The Cara Cara’s pretty color makes it very popular variety.
Most recently, the ranch budded the Page Tango, an early maturing, sweet and juicy mandarin.
Now at around 150 acres, Stull Ranches is a medium-sized ranch in California’s central valley.
When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out, because that’s what’s inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside.
–Wayne Dyer