Web 2010
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01/19/11Full Disclosure and Open TransparencyNow that the U.S. Government has passed the long-awaited food-safety legislation that has been many years in the making, one would think that we are all about to enter into a new era of consumer protectionism. Billed as The Food Safety Modernization Act, costing an estimated $1.4 billion in new funds over five years, consumers will now be able to eat more and worry less about contracting a food-borne illness—unless, of course, you are eating food from "a small producer." Thank you Mr. Tester for this exemption that uses farm size and geographical boundaries on how far the produce is shipped as guidelines on which produce can be certified safe and which will not need to meet the new standards.For the life of me, I am still trying to understand the reasoning behind using... |
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01/11/11Cherry InstituteWinters seem to pass more quickly every year. As most know … winter is officially “meeting time” in the Pacific Northwest tree fruit industry. Cherry growers will have numerous opportunities to come in from the cold and focus on the challenges of producing the best sweet cherries in the world. A few of the our important dates are:• January 14th, Cherry Institute at the Yakima Convention Center, Washington• January 20th, North Central Washington Stone Fruit Day at the Wenatchee Convention Center, Washington• February 2nd, Okanogan County Hort. Assoc. Annual Mtg. at the Okanogan County Agriplex, Washington• February 8th, Mid Columbia Cherry Day in The Dalles, Oregon• February 26th – March 4th, IFTA Annual Conference, Red Lion Hotel,... |
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01/04/11New Year, New CongressThe year 2011 will be a challenge for our industry as we enter into an era of reduced spending and, obviously, program cutting. In most cases, defeated House members were ousted because, well, "change" didn't come as promised, and what change did happen, came with a huge price tag!New leadership and new members are storming the Hill, flying a conservative flag of glory. Many may agree that finally, this has to happen, but with conservative spending comes cuts to programs that our industry supports. At the Washington Horticultural Society Annual meeting in December, Dr. Des O'Rourke called for increase spending for international promotions to increase exports. He didn't just call for an increase, he called for tsunami of spending in that arena from a Washington level of 8... |
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12/14/10Thank You GrowersRecently growers received a mailing from the Washington Apple Commission outlining the need to have accurate and up-to-date addresses and acreages. We have had overwhelming response to this mailing and I want to thank all growers for their kind attention to this very important issue. Accurate grower information is critical, not only to your Washington Apple Commission, but to other industry groups that rely upon the WAC to maintain and update the grower listing. This month those of you in District #2 (I-90 south to Yakima) will receive a ballot for the WAC District #2 position #5 election. Two very capable industry leaders will be running for a three-year Commission appointment to the WAC. Grower assistance in updating our records provides opportunity to voice opinions to important... |
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12/02/10Celebrate National Pear MonthOnce again this year, at the behest of the Pear Bureau, the USDA has named December "National Pear Month". We use this designation to create buzz among food editors, so they will write about pears and include pear recipes in their publications. Outreach to editors is an important and effective component of our marketing program.As reported by our public relations department at a recent board meeting, fresh pears have received generous coverage in regional and national media early this season. The Pear Bureau’s media relations efforts have resulted in five times more consumer media articles to date this season. Stories, images, and recipes featuring fresh pears have appeared in magazines like Women’s Day, Vegetarian Times, Family Circle and Food Network Magazine,... |
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11/23/10Colombia market vulnerableHaving just returned from Colombia, Washington's largest South American apple market, I realized I was witnessing the deterioration of a very important partner of Washington's apple growers. Not only has Colombia exceeded 400,000 cartons of imports from Washington, the consumer preferences by variety and size enhance grower returns. Galas are the preferred variety, followed closely by Granny Smith and Red Delicious, and smaller sizing interest (113/125 & 150/198) provides options other than bags prior to Christmas.The true erosion of the Colombian market is due to the lack of progress by the U.S. Congress to ratify the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). For well over a yea, Congress has not acted to ratify the FTA with Colombia while Canada and the European Union... |
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11/01/10Yes We Can…In recent years, my wife Maggie and I have canned peaches, tomatoes, and asparagus. Maggie comes from a large family and we usually make our “canning day” a group family affair that includes many of her 8 brothers and sisters and extended family. We have great fun and end up with a year’s supply of whatever fruit or vegetable the team decides to preserve. This year we canned over 200 pounds of tomatoes. When WSFC Promotion Director James Michael came to me last spring and proposed a “preservation out-reach component” to our stonefruit promotional campaigns, I responded favorably because of the “fun factor” that I had experienced during my family's own canning activities. James provided some interesting consumer data that showed that there... |
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10/18/10China, continued....I would like to point out the labor-intensive methodology of harvest, to storage, to packing. The first packer asks the grower to presize and presort in the orchard, harvesting the product into the plastic bushel containers (15kg). Upon delivery and purchase, similar product is then put into wooden bins (see photo) with permeable liners and stored, treated with SmartFresh. At our second visit, the process doesn’t include presizing or presorting. Product is first sized back into plastic bushels then put into bins for storage—growers don’t presort or presize. This is a labor intensive system. The Buying Process – at the most sophisticated packer The majority of packers don’t own orchards. The packer we visited purchases the entire production... |
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10/13/10New York Congressional Delegation stands up for US ApplesAfter returning from the United Fresh Public Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., last month, I was inspired to take on yet another national issue that has serious implications for the apple industry: the Mexican cross border trucking problem, which has now drawn apples onto the tariff list! While visiting with congressional leaders on the hill, we delivered the message loud and clear that the administration needs to resolve the stand off, which is supported by the Teamsters Union. Our office sent out 28 letters reaching every congressman in the state (except the one that resigned), and both senate offices asking for them to take action, NOW! Last week, Representative Mike Arcuri (D-NY, 24th District) authored and circulated a colleague letter to our upstate delegation, asking... |
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10/11/10Governor's Mission to China, Pt. 2Monday Visit – We arrived in Yantai in the early afternoon on Monday and proceeded approximately 120km to a modern facility in Qixia. Packing The facility was modern and set up similarly to most Washington State packers. The packing line had a four-lane sizer with a water dump. The line didn’t have waxing capabilities, but did have 28 individual drops. They have 6 smaller CA rooms of approximately 1,000-1,200 bins, but none where used as CA, only common storage. They use SmartFresh on all of their apples coming out of storage, extending their marketing to May of this year. They pack between 300,000 and 400,000 cartons annually with 90% export, India being their largest/highest return market. As a point of reference, India paid US$32.00 equivalent for Premium 20kg... |
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10/04/10Useful Web SitesThe 2010 pear season is starting out well and we have a lot of activities and programs to help ensure it continues that way. Working in a constantly changing marketplace, it is important to stay on top of things in order to create strategies and plans for tomorrow and the longer term. I use the Internet a lot these days, as it is an excellent source of information—if you know where to look. However, one often has to sift through a lot of junk to get to the good stuff. I have listed several of my favorite useful Web sites here. They are worth a look, and perhaps a bookmark on your computer. I hope you find them of interest.Retail report – This report from the USDA is updated every Friday afternoon and tracks ad activity and price data from 17,000 supermarkets, about half of... |
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10/04/10Governor's Mission to ChinaMid September, I had the opportunity to travel to China on the Washington State Governor’s Mission. Prior to the mission, Washington Apple Commission Chairman Frank Davis and I visited Shandong Province and I would like to share these details with you.Yantai is a coastal city lying southwest of Dalian and northwest of Beijing. We drove approximately 120 km from Yantai into Shandong Province to the packing facility of Alpha Fruit Packers. Approximately 40 km outside of Yantai, we entered the second-largest apple growing region in China, Shandong Province, where 27% of all Chinese apples are grown. Production of apples for other provinces include Shanxi, 7%; Shaanxi, 25%; Gansu, 5%; Hebei, 9%; and remaining provinces 27.The Shandong area would be similar to New York from the... |
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09/30/10Vietnam: A Land of Mopeds and Growing Cherry ConsumptionThe cherry crop in the Northwest continues to expand and growers will continue to need new markets and new segments in order to remain viable. With this fact in mind, I was able to spend the past eight days on a market development trip to Vietnam. Northwest Cherry Growers Director of International Business Development, Keith Hu, and I felt the time was right to look at Vietnam as a potential market for NWCG promotional activity. Prior to the 2010 cherry season, we have been monitoring the quickly evolving middle class situation in Vietnam and the steady growth of the Washington Apple market there. Of course, these indicators are two of several that are required to be in place for a market to expand … others being a cold chain that can accommodate the highly perishable sweet... |
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09/20/10Asian Trade Tour, Week Two
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09/15/10Washington Governor's Tour to AsiaWashington State Governor Christine Gregoire is taking a group of agriculture representatives on a trade mission to Asia this week and next. This photo shows apple and potato commissioners and support personnel in Sci-tech Beijing with the state's ag director. Sci-tech is a high-end retailer. Washington Apple Commission President Todd Fryhover will be sending updates throughout the trip as opportunity provides. Also, B.J. Thurlbey, president of the Washington State Fruit Commission will join the group in Vietnam and intends to add to the discussion in this "Out of the Orchard" blog. |
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09/02/10Washington's Export Outlook for 2010-2011Recent travels to Chicago to attend the USApple Outlook conference have provided optimistic insights into the export opportunity, or more accurately ‘competition’, for Washington apples this season. Presenters from several countries provided apple estimates allowing for a global outlook on supplies:EU down 11% China down 4%Mexico down 10% Canada down 1.1%US East Region down 14% US Midwest Region down 35%US West Region up 4%[All volumes in comparison to 2009]At first glance, it appears several of Washington State’s important export markets should have less domestic-grown apples providing opportunities for us. With the EU 27 showing a decreased crop volume, I anticipate Russia being an excellent destination for large Washington apples. In addition, Polish... |
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09/02/10Past, Present and Future Innovations in the Produce IndustryRecently I participated in a survey conducted by a major produce magazine to identify the most important innovations that have shaped the industry in the past 25 years as well as those that will shape the future. They will use the survey results in an upcoming issue of their magazine. Below is what I submitted.It is hard to rank them in order; those I mentioned have been important for certain segment of the industry and may be more important for some than others.Category Management (UPC/PLU) - This has been a good and bad area of influence. It has helped retailers track their inventory and even reduce their labor pool at the buying level, but has hurt some growers by adding costs. For example, costs of the plu stickers are passed on to the grower. It has also reduced... |
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08/27/10Eleventh Hour ResolutionNorth East apple growers dodged a bullet this week, when a resolution to the stalled and bogged down Jamaican H2A program was finally announced by Senator Leahy's (Vermont) office. The announcement of the resolution was made after industry leaders and elected officials worked tirelessly for the last few weeks to 'fix' the system.Apple growers began receiving RFE's (request for more evidence), from the U.S. Customs Immigration Service earlier this summer, requesting more information on applications. Until the RFE's were answered, applications were being either denied, or returned. The issue was that the U.S. State Department, because of the new Administrations H2A rules, had reclassified the Jamaican Center Labor Organization from a government agency to a labor contractor, and imposed... |
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08/20/10Lower Worldwide Pear Supplies ExpectedRecent news from the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) show a 19% projected decline in pear production in the European Union (E.U.), making this year’s crop potentially the lowest in a decade. Closer to home, the Pacific Northwest pear crop is projected to see an 11% decrease. Factoring in California’s lower crop expectations and the U.S. fresh pear production may see a 15% decline compared to last season. This world supply scenario is good news for pear growers in the Northwest.While the Northwest production is only 2% lower than the five-year average, when you include California’s lower crop, the U.S. fresh pear production is expected to be 3% below the five-year average. However, the lower crops in Europe are what make the production picture more... |
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08/12/10Retail Executives Enjoy a Taste of Peach HarvestAs harvest of the region’s 13-million-plus-box cherry crop begins to wind down, peach and nectarine growers are just starting to pick up steam in their campaign to pick a soft fruit crop that will run through September this year.In an effort to showcase the 2010 crop, the staff at the Washington State Fruit Commission hosted a group of retail executives from around the United States and Canada this week. The retail group consisted of directors of produce, head merchandisers and buyers that represent over 2,000 grocery stores. The fruit looked great and most importantly … tasted amazing. The group was able to visit orchards and packing houses from Pasco to Yakima. And, as always, principals and key sales and marketing personnel did a great job of showing our guests the... |
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08/12/10Powered by Cherries…the Chicago MarathonThis year's tart cherry marketing plan will kick off in October at the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. We're excited to showcase cherries and the "Powered by Red" benefits to more than 125,000 athletes and fitness enthusiasts—and in the third-largest media market in the nation—with the help of our powerful cherry advocates.Building on the successful 2010 Red Recovery activation at marathons across the country, we plan to re-introduce the Red Recovery Routine and share how choosing cherries can be a powerful way to relieve muscle soreness and boost recovery post run. Tart Cherry Processors and Marketers will be able to get involved in the Chicago Marathon Health & Fitness Expo (October 8-9) and showcase the many tart cherry products.Marathons have been a... |
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08/02/10Going To MarketNew York will have a nice, marketable crop of apples this year. We escaped serious freeze injury this spring, and when you look at the bloom dates this year, one could easily say, we are lucky to have apples on the tree at all. Scattered low temperature did reduce the crop, down from last year's 32.8 million bushel crop, but our growing season has been awesome so far. So, we are getting ready to peddle the crop—and earlier that ever before. Sparking the interest of retailers for fresh crop apples 10-18 days earlier than normal has been a challenge. As all marketers know, many decisions are made "According to Mac" and that would be the computer, not the apple. Ads are set, based on the ad date from last year, and it takes a lot of good marketing to change those easy... |
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07/25/10Consumer OutreachReaching consumers with information about pears is an important way to raise awareness and usage. One of the best ways to reach our target consumer in the United States today continues to be through magazine articles. When a publication carries an article about pears it acts as a third party endorsement in publications that consumers trust.We reach out to magazine editors and writers (as well as bloggers) all year long, providing them a constant reminder of any new research, recipes, or just continuous information about pear varieties and usage. As our communications Director, Cristie Mather reports in our latest newsletter, “Our ongoing efforts targeting consumer media are paying off early this season, as a number of top food and lifestyle magazines are featuring pear recipes... |
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07/21/10The Good/Bad/Ugly of New YorkGreetings from New York State. I have been AWOL for a while, caught up in local issues that continue to be troublesome. For those who know me, you will realize that I am New York through and though, but these days, New York Blue seems to fit better. We continue to struggle with our lame-duck administration and an incomplete state budget that is 112 days late. Leadership in Albany is also AWOL. On top of that, on the apple front, different challenges continue to pop up on a regular basis. The good news is that our crop looks good. We are not breaking limbs, despite plenty of rain and heat. We will likely be less than last year's 32.8 million bushel crop, but hitting our 5-year average is probable. Since I am talking about last year's numbers, let me share the most recent USDA data as... |
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07/19/10Spreading the WordWhen cherry harvest in full swing, so should be the orchard tours. This year is no exception, with the National Cherry Festival as this year's back drop. The timing was perfect for this year's "Blogger Tour". Social Media is hot and technology has created new opportunities to tell the cherry story.Weber Shandwick and the Cherry Team in Chicago have done a terrific job in not only seeing the opportunity, but actually developing a strategy to get our story out. Consumers today are the holy grail. Getting to them in a way that holds their attention and engages themis no small feat. Especially younger consumers today who are not reading newspapers or watching the nightlynews, but are instead relying totally on the Web and their favorite blogs. Ag, too, is complicated and it is... |
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07/15/10Earliest Harvest on RecordThe sweet and tart cherry harvest started two weeks ahead of normal and three weeks ahead of last year in Michigan. The harvest in Southwest Michigan is now complete with West Central and Northwest at the half-way mark. Last week's report from the Cherry IndustryAdministrative Board indicated that Northwest Michigan has harvested 23.8 million pounds to date against a 72.5-million-pound June estimate. West Central has harvested 32.6 million pounds to date, against their estimate of 53 million pounds. Southwest is at 11.7 million pounds and will not likely hit their forecast number of 14.5 million pounds. Pennsylvania is now at 2.2 million pounds. In New York and Wisconsin harvest is underway.The weather in the East has been very hot and humid. This is unlike last year, when we never hit... |
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07/02/10Shake ItThe tart cherry harvest is in full swing across the State of Michigan. Harvest started in Southwest Michigan on June 24th, which is a record early start. This year we are a good two weeks ahead of normal, with a lighter-than-normal crop. West Central and Northwest Michigan both came on line this week with both production regions bunched up. The weather has been a bit wild with lots of strong winds (80 mph) and rain in our southern regions about two weeks ago with power outages and down trees. This is always a challenge for growers just before harvest. The central and northern regions were not hit by the storm. We expect to be completely through harvest by the end of July this year, which is unheard of here in Michigan. I was in Wisconsin last week, and they are not far behind.... |
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06/25/10Finally, Cherry Growers Get Serious About HarvestAs we approach the last few days of shipping before the window for the 4th of July holiday closes; I find myself worrying that we are going to have a “relapse” to last year’s challenging cherry season. Certainly, volume is increasing daily, and I expect us to be up to 300,000-plus boxes shipped by today … June 25. All told, we have only shipped 1.5 million boxes of cherries out to the market and odds are that we will be a paltry 3 million boxes shipped by the time our window closes on June 28th. Of that, one third will be exported leaving only 2 million boxes for the cherry-hungry domestic market. These are some of the same key factors that led to last year’s challenges—and not a good way to build the moment we would like to have coming into... |
06/19/10Meeting Washington leadersAbout ten days ago, we were invited to meet with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, and the Administrator of EPA, Lisa Jackson. This past Monday the Cherry Marketing Institutes Chairman of the Board, Randy Willmeng and I traveled to Washington for the meeting. We started the day with a visit in Senator Stabenow's office to chat about the 2012 Farm Bill and the needs and hopes of Specialty Crop Farmers and specifically the Cherry Industry. We finished the morning with an hour and a half meeting with two cabinet level individuals.The year 2009 was a mammoth cherry crop that picked out at 352.9 million pounds. The average production up to the 2009 crop was 242.6 million pounds. The quality was premier and, as a result, we packed the largest crop since 1964. This past season... |
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06/18/10Fresh Pear EstimatesThe Pear Bureau and Fresh Pear Committee held their annual meetings in Portland on June 2nd and 3rd. In addition to extensive reports on past and future activities, the promotion budgets were approved and the first crop estimates were finalized.One of the highlights of the meetings was the promotion video. The video gives a good overview of the activities and promotions that the Pear Bureau conducts around the world on behalf of the fresh pear growers in the Northwest. You can see this year’s video as well as archived versions on the member’s Web site: http://trade.usapears.com/Now back to the crop forecast. This year’s fresh pear crop is projected to be on par with the five-year average. With a projected total of approximately 18.5 million standard-box equivalents,... |
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06/11/10Washington's foreign marketplaceWhen ‘we’ look at the Washington Apple Commission's Export Program, our focus is drawn to internal growth (overall crop volume) while the priority is diversification of consumer varietal preference to mesh with the state's production. It’s not only about the quantity the industry exports, but which specific varieties the commission supports with promotion to keep the balance between Washington production and consumer demand.Every market is important to Washington apple growers, but three lend themselves to support our growth while having opportunity for varietal diversification: China, India, and Russia. China and India are obvious—two of the most populous countries in the world with an exploding middle class. However, Russia is the world’s largest... |
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06/10/10Rainier Cherries Receive "Premium" DesignationAs we wait for the needed warm weather of June to bring forward this year’s Northwest Cherry crop … our partners at the USDA have posted a new standard on Washington-grown Rainier Cherries. After a year of discussion in Washington, D.C., Rainier cherries grown in Washington state may now be packaged as “Premium” if they have the right size, color, and brix content. The hope is that growers who go to the effort to produce a “Premium”-pack Rainier will be rewarded for their efforts in the marketplace. The actual regulations posted in the 7 CFR 923 of the Federal Register are below:http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-13408.pdfThe Summary:This final rule changes the handling regulation for cherries under the marketing order. Specifically,... Posted at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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06/07/10Cherry Industry's Person of the YearCongratulations to Dr. Amy Iezzoni who was selected this year's Cherry Industry Person of the Year. Dr. Iezzoni will be recognized at Industry Day, scheduled for July 6th at the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Station. Amy has spent her career breeding tart cherry selections. She is the only tart cherry breeder in the United States today. She is known throughout the world for her work, dedication, and interest in selecting tart cherry varieties that will better met the needs of both the industry and consumers. As we think about sustainability of our industry, new varieties that we spray less are essential, without sacrificing quality along the way.There are very few true pioneers left in the world today who truly are dedicated to science and the industry. Dr. Amy Iezzoni is one... |
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06/04/10A change of varietyApproximately one third of Washington’s apples is exported to 60 markets, and in the last five years, Red Delicious accounted for approximately 43 percent of these exports. Although only representing 30 percent of total production, Red Delicious remains a significant variety with international consumers. As Washington growers continue to diversify varietal plantings, expanding the international consumers' knowledge of Washington’s many ‘other’ varieties is a priority. Just a decade ago, Red and Golden Delicious accounted for 61 percent of total production—today the two varieties comprise only 39 percent. In this same time period, Gala has doubled to slightly less than 20 million cartons, Granny Smith’s volume increased 50 percent and Fuji was up 10... |
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06/03/10Tools of the tradeTart cherry growers are used to large production swings. Large crops tend to lead to smaller crops. This was the basis for the Federal Marketing Order when it was put in place in 1996. Taking the production from a large crop and creating a “hold back” enables the industry the chance to keep customers in short crop years. This year, 2010, is no exception. Last year, the industry produced a record crop of over 350 million pounds. The inventory went up as a result of a high quality crop, grown under ideal weather conditions, with exceptional yields. In 2009, we had an average production of 10,000 pounds of red tart cherries per acre. The 2010 tart cherry crop will be substantially less. This smaller crop will work well to stabilize supplies and price, two important... |
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06/01/10June comes in like a lion?Amazingly, it’s the first day of June and a month ago I would have bet that growers along the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities region of Washington State would be picking today. It turns out that my beginning-of-May assumption is about 10 days from being accurate! The ever-changing sweet-cherry crop situation here in the Northwest remains “unpredictable” at best. In looking at orchards from the Tri-Cities to Naches in the state this past week, it is safe to say that we do not have a bumper crop on the trees. From the Pasco to Prosser, I do not think I saw a crop that averaged more than 4 or 5 tons per acre … and many orchards were much lighter than that. Looking at cherries over the Memorial Day weekend, I was disappointed to see several early Chelan blocks... |
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06/01/10Looking at 2010-2011 with concernEach year at this time, we are always asking the same questions: how's the crop, any damage, will the inventories be manageable by fall, and—most of all—what do you think the market will be? Each year at this time, we answer, "If I knew that, apples would not be my game." Across our state, unusually early spring warm weather, followed by normal cold weather, at the wrong time, have apple growers wondering, guessing, and hedging on what the crop will be.We hear the same comments across the state, from "I froze out," to "some damage," to "none" at all. This week, hot temperatures have prevailed across the growing area, and the thinning process is taking place. So, if you are looking for insider trading information on the 2010-2011 New... |
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05/28/10Apples take a short breakEntering into the Memorial Day holiday, with cherry season imminent, industry takes a break to enjoy what could be the last weekend away from the office until the end of July, or later for some. Cherry season can be intense—a huge influx of seasonal workers, long hours of harvesting and packing, and numerous strategy sessions to match supply with demand focusing on the best prices/returns. As industry concentrates on cherries, apples continue to ‘chug along’ in the background but not without a lot of attention.Export sales traditionally decrease in the spring and summer months as Southern Hemisphere producers make their presence known with a new crop. Most markets ‘dip’ as the new crop arrives from the Southern Hemisphere, but a few strategic markets... |
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05/22/10Joy of Travel?So, you all think traveling around the world is interesting, exciting and all fun—exotic destinations, great food, nice hotels? I have to admit, for one brief moment prior to getting on an airplane for a 30 hour door-to-door trip, I, too, feel this way. But, as soon as I wake up at Pangborn (the airfield in Wenatchee, Washington) at ‘o-dark thirty,’ crammed into a seat designed for a 5’6,” 150 pound boy, I remember how ‘getting there’ is the hard part—and this is only the first trip of a 16-week annual travel schedule. The month of May brings an end to my extensive travels allowing for reflection. And, oh, how I need this reflection!The end of travel, however, does not mean our efforts in foreign marketing are in any way reduced. For... |
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05/14/10CPMA – (Canadian Produce Marketing Association)May 12-14th Chris Scott and I attended CPMA in Vancouver, B.C. The Washington Apple Commission had a booth with our new bright and informative pull-ups, highlighting the scope of our mission at the commission. We took the time to meet with several other packers who also had booths; Columbia Marketing International (CMI), Domex Superfresh Growers, First Fruits Marketing, L&M, Rainier, and Chelanfresh Marketing. Stemilt was a major sponsor and Washington Fruit & Produce, Sage, and Borton Fruit were in attendance. Vancouver provided a beautiful venue to highlight our produce industry to retailers in Canada. Washington exports over 5 million cartons annually to Canada—our second largest export market.Our good friends from Cherries and Pears... Posted at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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05/12/10Retail Real EstateThere are around 600 items in an average retail produce department in the US today, each vying for the consumer’s attention. This is double the number of fruits and veg displayed just 25 years ago. Each of those 600 items is vying for retail real estate: position, linear display space and ultimately, the shopper’s attention. Produce sales are heavily impulse driven and retailers use subtle psychological tools to help increase sales, prompting consumers to buy things that aren’t on their list or their minds when they enter the store. Retailers use a variety of techniques to help entice sales, including front end-cap positioning, using displays with false bottoms for a bountiful impression, creating beautiful color breaks by placing... Posted at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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05/11/10Apple Profit Protection for Local Economies (APPLE)Last week, New York Senator Chuck Schumer announced his plan to introduce legislation entitled the Apple Profit Protection for Local Economies Act (APPLE-Act). The legislation would provide up to $20 million dollars per year for USDA to give out low-interest loans and grants to orchard owners to upgrade their orchards.The objective, as stated, was to plant new and more profitable varieties. This announcement came as a surprise and shock toboth the New York apple industry as well as the rest of the apple-producing country. Since both the New York Apple Association and the US Apple Association had no prior knowledge of this "act," we were all somewhat blindsided.I received a call from a local newspaper that asked, "Why should taxpayer's dollars be used to subsidize apple... |
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05/07/10Think Prevention—Live LongOn May 8th at the River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, 83-year-old retired cherry grower, Joe Gamble will be suiting up in his "Powered by Red Cherry" gear to put it all on the line. Joe normally runs in the 5k race, however this year he is going for the 10k race. Using cherry juice as a part of his training routine, Joe is a believer that prevention is key to events like these. Joe lives an active lifestyle and is the envy to many. Still skiing with his kids and running marathons at 83 is as good as it gets. Cheer on Joe in the race.... he'll be wearing the Cherries: Powered by Red gear. Go Joe! |
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05/03/10The Way Out of the WildernessLast July, we were contacted by a University of Michigan professor and encouraged to work with their MBA Program to look for new ways to expand cherry sales. Today, the University of Michigan has one of the top MBA programs in the country, and it seemed natural to challenge the best and brightest talent.We submitted an application in the fall to the Ross Business School, and, to our surprise, our proposal ranked number one by both the faculty and the students out of over a 100 proposals. With six of the university's top MBA students assigned to the cherry project, the work started on March 11. Last week, after seven weeks of work and over 1,600 person hours, the students presented their report to a packed boardroom of cherry industry leaders, processors, marketers, growers and... |
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04/29/10Racial profilingGreetings from the Empire State, still the home of dysfunctional government and out-of-control spending, but it is home. Our spring sprung early, but so far the orchards of New York have escaped any weather injuries, and, as of this very moment, a record crop looms ahead for our apples. Of course, ever year on April 29th I say that, only to revise and reevaluate the crop each day as we move forward. On Wednesday, we had snow in western New York, and today, it is high 60s and sunny…so as the ole Yiddish saying goes, G.W.W.P: God Willing and Weather Permitting, we will have a crop.Switching gears, the recent developments in Arizona have certainly raised awareness about racial profiling. Something that we are way too familiar with. I want to share a recent statement that I made... |
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04/26/10On the StripSo, what do you think of when someone HAS to go to Las Vegas to attend a convention? Yes, I know what you’re thinking, but rest assured, my recent visit (April 20-23) was all business!Attendance at the United Fresh 2010 convention was a low-key event for a seasoned convention attendee like me. Believe it or not, gambling is not my thing but walking around and watching humanity is, so Las Vegas provides many an opportunity. The convention was excellent for Food Safety and Traceability information, but I spent most of two days walking the exhibition floor meeting with packers and talking with vendors. In addition, several East Coast producers were in attendance adding to the speculation of what the 2010 apple harvest will bring from Washington. ‘More of the best’ is... |
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04/25/10Weathering the Weather … Whether we like it or notIt is late April, and all of us are hoping that frost season has come and gone for the year. As I was heading to a grower meeting in Grandview yesterday, I noticed that the temperature in the Yakima Valley was 54 degrees at 7:15 a.m. Certainly, the day was shaping up to be a great day for our bees and the pollination we need to set our tree fruit crops. In fact, based on degree days, this year so far is the fifth warmest we have seen in the past 15 years. In 2009, we saw the coldest January, February, and March in the past 20 years. In stating the obvious, the weather has as much impact on our crops as any other factor. The susceptibility of weather damage on soft fruit is constant threat throughout the year. On cherries, our growers go from fearing winter freeze, to spring frost... |
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04/24/10Precovery vs. RecoveryThe Boston Marathon was this week and was one of our big races this spring. Eating right in preparation for one ofthese events, both before and after a race, is critical. The Red Recovery Routine has tips on how cherries are a naturalfit in your work-out program. Whether it is recovery or just to stay in shape, superfruits can do the heavy lifting. Today you don't have to goto the Amazon to buy the hottest new superfruit. American farmers are growing them right here in our backyard, reducing the use of carbonand making the environment more sustainable.Pass the cherries please....Phil |
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04/21/10Marketing with social technologyToday’s consumer is not the passive consumer of 10 or 20 years ago. Consumers want to be involved in the products they purchase. They have many more outlets for learning about what they purchase and they let their feelings about products be known to their “circle of friends” that could number in the thousands thanks to today’s social media networks. |
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04/16/10Apple factsDid you know?Of the 21,400,000+ cartons of Washington State apples exported through March 2010;· 43.59% are Red Delicious, 21.69% are Gala, 10.24% are Fuji, 9.43% are Granny Smith, 9.06% are Golden Delicious and 5.98% are ‘other’ varieties.· Mexico accounts for 64.7% of all Golden Delicious exported from Washington.· Taiwan accounts for 77.8% of all Fuji’s exported.· India is on target to import over 2 million cartons of Washington apples this year – and 95% are Red Delicious.· Our industry is... |
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04/14/10Cherries…or Cheerios?Moms are the gate keeper for the choices we have in our meals. |
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04/09/10Making the first cut, Pear Bureau NorthwestThe Pear Bureau, along with your other commodity commissions and organizations, participates in a variety of competitive grant programs helping to leverage grower funds and increase consumption, awareness, and sales domestically and around the world. |
04/09/10Foreign Travel, Washington Apple CommissionWhirlwind travel. |
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04/09/10Cherries: America's SuperfruitMarathons sponsored by Cherry Marketing Institute |
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04/05/10If it’s not one thing ...Thank you for reading my first blog post on the new Good Fruit Grower website. I appreciate Jim Black’s generous offer to reach out to growers with this blog about what’s happening in the world of pears outside the orchard. I hope to provide thoughts and insights revolving around all things pears, from marketing and promotion, to my experiences on the road, to new and interesting trends and research. To start, I think it is fair to say “if it’s not one thing, it’s another.” In the same week that marked the one-year anniversary of the 20% tariff on fresh pears in our largest export market, Mexico, the government of Brazil published its list of products that they plan to slap duties on, and pears had the dubious honor of making that list as well. The... |
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04/05/10Fast SpringHere in Michigan we are off to a fast spring. Yesterday at 7:30 a.m., it was 57 on the bank thermometer. The temperature should be in the 30s! We hit 81 yesterday, and it will be warmer today. Most apple growers are getting ready to put their first scab sprays on. Yes... three weeks early! Spring has sprung here, with growers trying to wrap up their winter work, and getting their sprayers out. |
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04/05/10Greetings from New YorkGreetings from sunny (for a change) New York State, home for 19,456,586 over-taxed citizens. We have 29 US Representatives, wait, we have 28 now, after Rep. Massa got caught tickling his staffers. We have two Senators, I think, and our present Governor, who replaced our last Governor who got caught at the Mayflower in DC with a 23-year-old “friend,” is presently hanging on to his office by a thread, surrounded by scandal and abuse of power. We are also negotiating a 138-billion-dollar budget, which is close to 4 billion above last year…. Oh, and we are running a 9-billion-dollar shortfall…SO, Welcome to New York! The good news is that we grow great apples, make sweet maple syrup, tasty wine, sharp cheese, and cheap milk. We have a... |
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04/02/10The other WashingtonUSApple representatives George Allan, Dale Foreman, Bob Price, Bruce Grim, Mike Wade, Jon Wyss and I spent last week in Washington DC attending the USApple meetings. Wednesday was spent on the Hill meeting with the Washington State contingent expressing concerns about immigration, health care, and the Market Access Program - MAP. |
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04/01/10Entering the Blogosphere?Agency directors from Washington, Oregon, Michigan, and New York give their take on the world of tree fruit. |
