Sunkist® stories, articles & musings

From 80 acres of homestead ground in 1949 to today’s thriving lemon and Minneola tangelo orchards, the Woodman’s have built a legacy rooted in grit, tradition, and love for the land.

If you ask Bob Woodman how his family ended up farming citrus in Yuma, Arizona, he’ll tell you the story begins long before he ever picked up a pair of pruning shears. It starts in 1949, when his father became one of the original Yuma homesteaders — carving out a life on 80 acres of raw desert ground and slowly transforming it into a working farm.

Bob grew up in that life. He watched his father build something out of stubborn soil and relentless heat, and while his two brothers chose different paths, Bob felt pulled toward the land. Farming wasn’t something he was pushed into — it simply fit.

“In the late ’70s, after college, I came back home,” Bob says. “Every year after that, I took on a little more of the farm. Dad stayed involved right up until the day he died.”

Carrying the Legacy Forward

Today, the Woodman ranch grows lemons and Minneola tangelos, continuing the legacy his father began nearly 80 years ago. The groves stretch across the same sandy soil his father first irrigated, and the methods aren’t far off either.

“When I was younger,” Bob recalls, “my dad would drop us off wherever the crew was working, and we’d just get in line and start. That was the work ethic.”

It’s a simple system, but an effective one — learn by doing, earn your place, understand the land. And as Bob raises the next generation in farming, those values stay central.

His son, Tyler, now works alongside him, gradually taking on the responsibilities just as Bob once did.

“I think my son enjoys the work,” Bob says with a smile, “maybe not as much as I do. But the way my father did it is the way I do it — and it’ll probably be the way my son and his sons will do it too.”

In a world where farming changes fast, the Woodman’s lean into the parts that matter: consistency, character, and care.

A Life Shaped by Seasons

Farming in Yuma isn’t glamorous — it demands early mornings, late nights, and a constant dance with weather. But for Bob, that’s exactly what he loves about it.

“Every day’s different,” he says. “Every day’s a challenge. You look forward to every season — from the bloom to the harvest. It’s never like the year before.”

The desert climate tests growers with frost, wind, heat, and unpredictability. But it also produces some of the most vibrant, flavorful citrus in the country — fruit grown with resilience and intention.

And for Bob, there’s no better life.

A Sunkist Story Still Being Written

Being part of the Sunkist cooperative connects the Woodman family to a network of growers just like them — people who work the land, honor tradition, and know what it means to care for a crop through highs and lows.

For Bob and Tyler, Sunkist offers something powerful: continuity.

A system that supports family farms.
A brand that represents quality.
A community that understands what it means to farm through three generations — and beyond.

A Legacy Rooted in the Desert

Three generations after their father and grandfather carved out that first 80-acre homestead, the Woodman family is still farming the same soil, still tending the same groves, and still passing down the same values.

Hard work.
Respect for the land.
Commitment to family.
A deep love for growing things.

And as long as the Yuma sun keeps rising over the citrus rows, Bob and Tyler will be there — nurturing fruit, nurturing legacy, and stewarding the land that has shaped their family for nearly a century.