Terhune Orchard's Mount Honored With International Award

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by Terhune Orchards.

Gary Mount, co-owner of Terhune Orchards in Lawrence Township, received the International Fruit Tree Association’s Hall of Fame Award at the international organization’s annual conference and tour recently in Santiago, Chile. 

The International Fruit Tree Association has nearly 1,000 members, principally fruit growers, in 26 countries and six continents.

The association has been instrumental in revolutionizing fruit growing around the world, primarily through the introduction and development of dwarfing fruit tree rootstocks.  A hallmark of the organization is the free exchange of information by growers and researchers around the world. Mount has been active with the association for three decades.

Mount and his wife Pam Mount were in Chile for the association’s 55th annual conference Jan. 8-11, but did not know about the award until his name was announced at the organization’s awards banquet. The conference was followed by a four-day bus tour of Chilean orchards.

“It is really great to be honored by an organization I’ve been involved with for 36 years, and to be recognized by my peers all over the world,” Mount said. "To realize that the award has only been given four times in 55 years is humbling."

Mount is known for his “let’s try it” attitude, which has been key in an ever-changing industry where innovation has been crucial.  He was previously named "Apple Grower of the Year" for 2005 by American Fruit Grower magazine.

He served on the association's board of directors for 11 years and currently serves on the IFTA research committee, as he has for 20 years, being chairman for 18. H

e recently helped found the IFTA Research Foundation, a charitable foundation that will provide the fruit tree industry with more research fund donations and grant funding for fruit tree research. He is a founding trustee and secretary of the foundation. Mount is a 10th generation farmer who has been involved New Jersey agriculture since purchasing Terhune Orchards in 1975.