All Good Fruit Grower blog posts:
Schlect: Immigration reform and dried cherries to the rescue
● Democrats are attempting this week to underscore the lack of movement on immigration reform
A cover a quilter will love
March 15, 2014 Good Fruit Grower cover by David Cobb of Mosier, Oregon.
Schlect: The Serbian scallywag
● Sarah Bittleman, who was the senior agricultural counselor at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
How we got that stunning March 1 cover
An aplomado falcon selected for the March 1, 2014 cover. (Courtesy Phil Hull)
Good Fruit Grower improves service to growers
As the Northwest Tree Fruit Industry races toward 2014, the team at the Washington State
Locke out
● Two non-browning Arctic Apples have cleared an important regulatory hurdle, with USDA's Animal Plant
Mr. Foley
● Initiative-522, on labeling genetically-engineered foods, failed this week (55.83% to 45.17%) in Washington state.
The Big Easy
● On Wednesday, I travel to New Orleans for the annual convention and trade show
Shut Down
Last week I attended, along with about 500 others, the United Fresh Produce Association's annual
That fellow behind the tree
Earlier this week I attended a legal education seminar on estate planning as part of
The Big Apple
● I was in New York City for three days on a family visit, before
The Fickle Nature of Earned Media
With the industry running full tilt into apple harvest … the team at the Northwest
Cuba Still Defying the Law of Gravitation
● Syria has managed to generate headaches not only for Middle East policy experts, but
The Windy City
● Last Wednesday and Thursday the United States Apple Association held its 2013 Apple Crop
Safe at the Plate
● FDA took to the highway this week for an informational tour of the fruit
SAHCODHA — Bureaucratic acronyms run amok
● Newly proposed safety rules aimed at food imports contain one of the better examples
Do I dare to eat a peach?
● Last Friday the Food and Drug Administration rolled out two more of its proposed
Unlevel Fields
● A new Farm Bill is still a far ways from a Rose Garden bill-signing. With
Farm Bill Brouhaha
● Today, in a surprisingly quick move, the House of Representatives passed by a vote
The Friendly Skies
● Immigration reform legislation has passed the U.S. Senate, but now faces tough times in
Farm Bill In Flames
● Today the House of Representatives failed to pass a new five-year Farm Bill by
DC Shufflings
● USDA has shuffled its leadership deck, especially as related to international trade policy. Sue
The Art, Science…and Luck of Cherry Crop Estimation
It’s June 12th 2013 and the Northwest Cherry harvest for this season is officially underway.
The Apple Cart
● A new group is being formed to help American agricultural interests better understand and
Boughs Loaded With Fruit
● I attended United Fresh 2013 last week in San Diego, the annual convention and
To The Midway
Immigration Reform and the Farm Bill are both moving, however haltingly, on Capitol Hill. We
Reporting from Asia
TOKYO, Japan -- As the Northwest Cherry Season quickly approaches I am spending two weeks
Stern Truths
● Last Friday, I attended a breakfast meeting in Yakima hosted by the William D.
STAX
● Max Baucus (D/Montana) announced on Tuesday he will not run for re-election to the
A Week Awhirl
● This week provided a spike of activity on three major agricultural policy fronts: food
Priority No. 2
As the Washington apple production increases and U.S. apple consumption remains flat (if not arguably
A New Cherry Season Brings Hope, Opportunity and Plenty of Challenges
As the Northwest Cherry season draws closer by the day … for the first time
Food Safety
● The May 16 deadline looms for public comments on two of the proposed rules
Snap, crackle, pop
Our tree fruits often find themselves featured in the logos designed for special events. Some
In Times of Plenty
I think we can all agree the record Washington apple crop of 2012 couldn’t have
Merry Gone
One of the federal sequestration cuts is the suspension by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service
Return from Barcelona
● This past Sunday I arrived back from Barcelona, Spain. There, I had attended the
Sasquatch
● Sequestration is set to go into effect on March 1. I do not see
Optimistic about pears
Recently, I had the pleasure to address a large number of growers at North Central
Recess
● A powerful court decision handed down this past Friday involving Noel Canning and the
Plan ahead
This week, I had the pleasure of giving presentations at apple meetings in Chelan and
Potomac Views
● The Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology and Foreign Agricultural Service of the House Agriculture
Hudson Valley Apple Pie
● If the apple industry of Washington state would like to address some of its
Drugged Media
● Last Friday, the Food and Drug Administration released two of its proposed regulations implementing
Potomac Precipice
● The fiscal cliff legislation, H.R. 8, that passed the House last night, did so
Activist Agenda
● Over the past few years there has been a minor boom in publishing books
A Glimpse of Washington State’s Future
In the third week of July 2012, at the Washington Apple Commission’s board of directors
Lame Duck
● The 112th Congress continues to lumber towards its eventual close, with a raft of
My Apple Cup Runneth Over
● Randy Green, a former Deputy Undersecretary of USDA and chief of staff to the
A Peach of a Part
● A bill to improve trade relations with Russia, H.R. 6156, was passed by the