Farming has always been in Art Fisher’s blood and he has been farming since he was four years old. Even after he and his wife, Tressa, were married and moved to Orchard Mesa, Art was still making the drive to the north end of town to help his father, Frank Fisher, farm his land in between his oil field shifts. It is no surprise that his love of farming is so strong; the Fisher family has been farming in our beautiful valley for a long time. Art’s grandparents, along with his father, farmed the land that the Mesa Mall and Fisher’s Liquor Barn stands on currently. After the land was sold, Frank moved and started farming at 948 26 Rd.
Fast forward a few decades, when Art and Tressa were preparing to take over the farm. They asked Frank how many acres he was farming and Frank replied: “Oh, Maybe, 350-400 acres”. It was only after Frank passed away from a rare heart disease did they find out that Frank was actually farming 1,600 acres between his personal land and custom farming. “Frank was a man who never had anything on paper. Everything was a handshake and there weren’t any signed deals. Everything was in his head.” Tressa recalled, “He started farming when he was 14. He wasn’t supposed to be, he was supposed to be in school. But he was out there building his farming business. He was really smart.”
When asked what the farm was like growing up and as a young adult Art replied, “I did all the farming, and dad knew the customers and the business side of it.” He recalled the task of taking care of 2,000 pigs over the course of a few years and then graduating to caring for cattle. “Feeding, there was a lot of feed,” Art said, “We would always take them up to the mountains to let them graze while we farmed down here in the valley. I would help run the cattle up there.” There was 1,400 head of cattle that Art would help with and with remembrance in his eye he said “We would feed them with the little bales of hay. Dad would fit 80-90 bails of hay in the back of his truck.” It was a lot of work, but it came with many good memories.
When Art and Tressa moved into the home that Art grew up in and took over the farm, “It was a $100,000 pay cut from the oil field to start farming, but it was the right thing to do and we never regretted it,” Tressa continued, “We had to call all Frank’s customers and ask, how many acres do you have and what do we do for you? It was quite the chore”. Art and Tressa later recalled telling their customers that they would be starting an invoice system and everyone was so happy because they wouldn’t have to run out in the middle of a field or an animal pen to pay for the work services anymore.
Another obstacle was figuring out the logistics of farming not only his own land, but the custom farming of others’ land as well. “In the spring everyone wants you to cut, but some of this machinery only drives 16-20mph. We had to educate our customers about logistics so we could be more efficient.”
When asked about living in their current home at 948 26 Rd, Tressa recalled with gratefulness, “This home has been a grand central station for years. So many of our customers and neighbors over the years have come to visit or bring a Christmas treat, just to show appreciation for their farmer and neighbor. The amount of love, support, and gratitude we have received since we announced Art’s retirement has been surreal.” Tressa said.
Currently, Art and Tressa are getting ready to officially retire and move out to Kentucky to enjoy retirement. “When you’re a farmer, your life’s schedule is dictated by the weather and humidity levels. If the humidity is right at three in the morning, then Art is out in the field at three in the morning”, Tressa said matter-of-factly. So there is little doubt they will be enjoying retired life and not worrying about humidity levels and not taking short naps instead of a full good night's sleep. The Fisher’s beautiful home with its rich and happy history is now for sale. If you would like to view the property, or inquire about it, you can call Julie Adams at (970) 712-1977 or email her at julieadamsgj@gmail.com.