May 7, 2012

Yakima Valley’s asparagus season leans on skilled cutters

Across the Yakima Valley, farmers say the same thing: It’s hard to perfect the art of cutting asparagus, and the workers who return year after year are an invaluable resource. Asparagus season started in mid-April and will run through mid- to late June.

It’s backbreaking work: Bending at the waist every two or three feet to cut the stalks just below the surface of the soil, then dropping the vegetables into a plastic box that hangs from a belt around the hips and grows heavier with each handful.

But for asparagus cutters in the Yakima Valley, it’s just another day in the field. The Seattle Times

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