Matt Miles, a long-time organic salesman in the Washington apple industry, died peacefully at 49 years old on Dec. 7

A 27-year veteran of the apple industry, Miles made a name for himself in organic apple sales dating back to 1997 with a variety of companies like FirstFruits Marketing and L&M Northwest. 

Graduating from Washington State University with a degree in Agricultural Economics, he kicked off his sales career with C.H. Robinson and quickly saw the growing opportunity in organics. 

“Although Matt was a salesman, he put growers first and their loyalty to him showed as those growers followed him to every organization, he worked at helping both the growers and his organization win in the organic space,” said Lon Hudson, formerly of Peterson Fruit and current sales manager at FirstFruits Marketing.

Thanks to his exceptional mathematical and analytical skills, he was known for developing predictive data models for both retailers and growers. 

Those same skills, along with his expert data stories also were the backbone of his yearly “state of the organic apple” presentation that growers looked forward to. 

Andy Tudor, former director at L&M, shared the impact Miles had on the company.  

“Within 3 years, Matt had tripled the size of our program and increased grower returns thanks to his meticulous planning and industry understanding that had allowed him to map industry growth and plan for utilization,” Tudor said.

Matt is survived by his wife Kristi, daughters Ashley and Sydney, his parents and one brother. Memorial services will be at a later date.