One of the larger orchard owning families, the Mathisons are a close-knit family with a farming story that goes back 100 years and six generations. They began organic farming on part of their land in 1989 and started using integrated pest management techniques to reduce pesticide use.

Stemilt started their Responsible Choice program the same year as they started farming organically. The early years of Responsible Choice focused on environmental initiatives like farming organically and introducing integrated pest management practices to orchards. Today, they make the Responsible Choice by nurturing healthy and happy lives of their employees.

Stemilt follows the words of their found Tom Mathison, "We’re only caretakers of the land for a short amount of time, so we must work to leave it as good as we can, or better if we can.” They have a multi-acre compost farm that regenerates our green waste into custom, nutrient-rich fertilizer to fuel the growth of their trees. They lead the county in producing solar energy in Chelan County and have numerous programs to protect natural resources.