From Genetics Lab to Apple Orchard: An Unexpected Journey Into Farming

Rami planted his first apple trees in 2015. Today, the farm produces 65 different varieties of the fruit.

By Hannah Alden, Communications Specialist

Back 20 or so years ago, it may have been close to impossible for Wisconsin farmers to grow a crop of organic apples marketed for fresh eating. Over time, and with more research and lived experience with the crop, farmers like Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) member Rami Aburomia are seeing a steady demand for Wisconsin grown organic fruit.

Rami and beloved farm dog, Charlie, pose for a photo outside the Atoms to Apples barn.

It was just over two decades ago when Rami came to Wisconsin with his family. Before that, he’d been on the path to becoming a geneticist on the west coast. Taking a career detour to work on a small farm in California was the first step that led Rami down another road.

He finished a master’s degree and began doing plant breeding work for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a few years. When his family moved to Wisconsin, he had a job set up in a USDA lab doing potato genetics work. Rami’s time at that job only lasted a couple months as the desire to farm resurfaced when he was at a Madison area apple orchard with his daughter. He asked the owners there if they wanted help pruning their trees… and the rest is history.

Rami worked at that orchard for 18 years, gaining valuable experience and slowly buying equipment for his own operation as the orchard’s owners planned to phase out. His family bought what is today Atoms to Apples just outside of Mount Horeb in 2013. Rami planted his first apple trees there in 2015.

With 25 acres of land that had been roamed by the previous owner’s cattle, there was a lot of work to be done to reshape the landscape for fruit production. There was erosion to deal with and fences to be pulled out. At first, Rami also kept working at the other orchard, which made it possible to fund his own operation.

Fast forward to present day, Atoms to Apples has become a staple vendor at several Madison area farmers markets. With five acres in production, Rami grows around 65 varieties of apples, ranging from heirlooms to new university trial varieties. Most of the work is done by Rami, with seasonal help when the harvest rolls around. He’s also hosting a shared apprentice through FairShare CSA Coalition’s farm manager apprenticeship program; the employee also works at Squashington Farm, a nearby vegetable operation.

Rami said he enjoys the seasonality of orchard work. When we visited in the spring, buds were just starting to pop on most of the trees.

The seasonal demands of fruit production change depending on the time of year. In the winter, Rami is busy pruning trees, which is followed by the bloom and required thinning in the spring. Most of the summer is spent on pest and disease control. By August, things ramp up quickly with heavy harvest and packing days. At that point through the late fall, Rami is often working seven days a week.

“I really like that super seasonality to it,” Rami said. “When you prune the last branch, you’re done and on to the next thing.”

With that seasonality comes risk, however. A late spring frost or bad hail storm can wipe out a large percentage of the crop within a matter of minutes. Rami has seen the impacts of climate change deepen over time. There’s often now a rapid warm up in the spring followed by the possibility of continued cold nights. Having wetter summers can also be a problem for organic fruit, as fungus outbreaks are harder to control.

There are ways for growers to lessen the risks, but they often come at a steep cost, such as installing wind towers to move the air around on cold nights. Through a grant, Rami was able to purchase equipment to shred up the orchard’s ground debris, which breaks down the twigs and leaves to help prevent fungal outbreaks. He’s also doing restoration work on the property to put in stretches of prairie – this is partially to eliminate brush that can harbor diseases that affect apples.

Along with the apples that are sold at the Westside, Dane County, Monroe Street, and Mount Horeb Farmers Markets, Rami’s crop is turned into value-added products, such as apple butter, sauce, and cider. He’s also got rows of pears, elderberries, and peaches on the landscape.

While farming wasn’t his original career plan, it’s led Rami down a path of community involvement and civic engagement. He’s currently president of the Wisconsin Apple Growers Association and serves on his town’s planning commission. Rami has also participated in WFU’s Next Crop Leadership Retreat and traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with legislators.

As for the farm’s name – Atoms to Apples – Rami gets a laugh when folks ask him if he’s a physicist.

“It’s just what farmers do, which is taking all of these atoms and using a plant to structure them into a food we can eat,” he said. “We’re caretaking these plants to do the hard work of taking atoms and turning them into apples, in my case.”