“Applegirlkait”: Washington Entrepreneur Sells Americans on Apples and Pears

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Changing consumer tastes, ever-rising labor costs, market oversupply, and elusive profits. Those make for a bushel basket of core problems for apple growers like Kait Thornton or “applegirlkait” as she is known to her 350,000 TikTok followers and 240,000 followers on Instagram.  

Thornton is a fourth-generation farmer in North Central Washington. Apples, pears, and apricots make up most of the focus.

Kait Thornton bio:

• Fourth generation fruit grower – Tonasket, Washington

• Social media influencer/marketer

• Washington State University graduate

• Owner, Kait’s Crates

One of the biggest challenges facing apple growers is the ever-changing consumer demand and the logistical puzzle that comes with it.

"One year, Cosmic Crisp might be super popular,” Thorton told American Farmland Owner. “... the next year it might be Honeycrisp. You're trying to mitigate your risk by spreading your varieties out."

But growing multiple varieties isn’t just about satisfying the markets. It is also about managing the harvest timeline. Apple picking is done entirely by hand, and moving crews, equipment, and materials around during harvest season is both costly and exhausting.

 “Right now, it kind of sucks, because we're bouncing back and forth across the river,” Thornton admitted. “That means we're moving tractors over, and we're moving ladders over, we're moving people over... you want to make sure that you're setting yourself up so you can start harvesting Honeycrisp, and then maybe move into Fujis, so on, and so forth.”

A Decade Without Profit

Thornton shares the ups and downs of life on the orchard, which includes the reality that her family faces. “I think the last time we actually really made money was 2012,” she said.

Despite putting in long hours year-round, the Thornton family—like many others in the industry—has struggled to turn a consistent profit.

“Farming does not make sense if you're only looking at the bottom line,” she said. “But you gotta look into the future, even 20 years into the future. What is your succession plan? What new varieties are you planting?”

The Costs of Apple Farming

That long-term thinking is essential in an industry where the up-front investment can be intimidating. “This year alone, we put over $4 million into a crop,” Thornton said, “…and the markets aren’t always returning what we need it to.”

Thornton uses her social media presence to promote the benefits of healthy eating and to provide a better understanding for people outside of agriculture to know how their food makes it to their table.

But the financial pressures of maintaining the business are always there.

"I watched my dad have to make a decision on a $7.5 million loan at 12.5% interest in two days,” she said. “That was a short-term thing, and we eventually got refinanced. But that’s the type of risk you have to put yourself on the line for—just to have a shot at farming the next year.”

Misconceptions about Farming

From the outside, farmers are often misunderstood. “A lot of people perceive farmers, ‘oh, they're driving a nice pickup,’” Thornton said. “But we live in our pickup,” she said to underscore the point of how much time is required to drive around the farm.

Nearly every dollar goes back into the operation. Labor, their largest cost, is unavoidable.

“You’re expected to turn around a payroll every two weeks,” Thornton said. “We just had to do a $300,000 payroll in the last two weeks, and Dad didn’t even know if he could pay that.”

The financial strain is worsened by delayed payments. “We’re still not paid from the ‘24 crop, and we’re going into the ‘25 crop,” she said.

Farm Lending

This delay, coupled with growing operational costs and fluctuating markets, is driving financial institutions away from agriculture altogether, she fears. “If [bankers] are not from agriculture, it just doesn’t make sense,” Thornton noted. “More and more financial institutions are moving away from agriculture because it’s too high risk, and they don’t understand it.”

It is a high-risk way to make a living but something that she knew as a girl that she wanted as an adult. That is why she shares the journey on social media, travels to shows and conferences, and does what she can to encourage others –especially young women – to commit to feeding communities.

 “I want to say what is immediately top of mind, and be real with people, and become my own platform that people do trust.” Thornton said, “and they do…really retain what I'm saying.”