Keith Veselka

Keith Veselka was appointed to position number 4 by the Washington Apple Commission and began his term July 1, 2021.

Keith was raised in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Central Washington University with a Law and Justice degree and commissioned in the United States Air Force, where he was a Nuclear Operations Launch Officer for over seven years. He is thankful he never had to launch.

Keith moved to Washington in 2001. He was introduced to apples and agriculture through his wife’s family, who have been farming in the Yakima Valley since the late 1800s. He managed his father-in-law’s farm for many years along with his own acres.  Keith is now co-owner of NWFM LLC and manages farms for investment groups with over 2,000 acres of apple, cherry, and pear orchards in various regions around Washington State.

He is a former president of the Yakima Pomological Society (Pom Club). He has been involved with them for over a decade. Keith is serving as a board member for the Washington Apple Education Foundation (WAEF) and is a past Chairman of the Board. He’s been on the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission Technology
Committee for about several years.

Keith credits Rob Lynch for his introduction to the Tech Committee. His interest in the Commission comes from his years as an observer and as a Tech Committee contributor. During this time, he has engaged in many positive conversations with Ines Hanrahan, Dave Allen, Tom Butler, and Jim Doornink. He loves how the Commission is advancing research technology. This research is a key aspect of the industry and, with labor demands and costs, it is needed now more than ever. Aspects of the Commission Keith enjoys are networking and opportunities to be a sponge since he did not grow up in the industry. He recalls Jim McFerson as always available to sit down over a beer, like at the Hort Show at 2:00am, and talk about the industry.

Keith’s wife is a teacher in the West Valley School District. They have two daughters and one son. His oldest daughter worked for Sage Fruit before college; she earned her master’s in international marketing and now lives in Boston. His youngest daughter attends Washington State University studying Business Marketing, Wine and Beverage Management.  Keith’s son grew up working on the farm and is now attending Everett Community College studying Fire Science and plans to enter the Air Force upon graduation.