Project Description
Marketing, Winter Season Preview
Featured stories about marketing and the winter season preview appear in this issue.
Quick Bites – November
Teeple chairs USApple John Teeple of Teeple Farms, Inc., Wolcott, New York, chairs the U.S. Apple Association for 2009-2010. He succeeds Bruce Grim, Entiat, Washington.
Selling a philosophy
FirstFruits Marketing of Washington is the new kid on the marketing block. From left are Jim Hazen, business manager for Broetje Orchards, FirstFruits organic sales
Major organic player
Using environmentally sound, sustainable practices to produce tree fruit is one of the core values of supplier-partners of FirstFruits Marketing of Washington, a new marketing
Take food safety seriously
The risk of tree fruits causing outbreaks of food-related illness is low. In fact, no outbreak has ever been linked to fresh apples, pears, cherries,
Five food-safety lessons
The tree fruit industry can learn some valuable lessons from past food-safety scares, according to Dr. David Gombas, senior vice president of scientific and technical
Novel approach
Pete Van Well (left) and Alessio Martinelli of CIV, Italy, admire the color of Rubens apples in Wenatchee, Washington, just before harvest. Rubens, a new
Rubens put to the test
The Rubens apple is harvested in early September, after Gala, and turns a vivid orange-red with red stripes. It has a good balance of sweetness
On the fast track
Michael Weber picks some samples of Mairac in a Washington State test planting. With apple variety breeders putting a strong emphasis on accelerating the breeding
Next big thing testing Mairac
The new variety Mairac in being grown in a test plot in the Wenatchee, Washington, area. Two partners in the European commercialization company VariCom, Michael
Cultivating resiliency
Resiliency is the ability to see opportunity in what some people might view as a negative experience. Dr. Glen Fahs of the Cascade Employers Association,
Great Lakes fruit sessions
More than a dozen educational sessions for tree fruit and grape growers will be offered during the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable, and Farm Market Expo
MSU leads RosBREED project
Michigan State University researchers will lead a four-year, $14.4-million grant-funded research project aimed at improving fruit quality, collaborating with nearly a dozen U.S. institutions and
Vineyard innovations
A mechanical fruit thinner has scuffed some of these berries, which will later desiccate and fall off. Efficient over-the-row tractors and labor-saving equipment to replace
Good Job – November
Mathews CEO at FirstFruits Keith Mathews, former executive director of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association, is the new CEO at FirstFruits Marketing of Washington, a
WSU wins $15 million for research
Washington State University researcher teams have been awarded more than $15 million in grants through the federal Specialty Crop Research Initiative. That's more than a
M.9 prevails in Poland
Malling 9 is the most popular apple rootstock in Poland, closely followed by M.26, but growers are also using dwarfing Polish rootstocks, and Geneva rootstocks
Optimistic about the crop
The Washington Apple Commission is focusing its export efforts this year on markets that have the potential to take more large-sized apples. The commission is
Air quality study shows low pesticide risk
A study that measured agricultural chemicals in the air near Washington State orchards did not find pesticides at levels considered harmful. The $530,000 study, conducted
Industry veteran is new CEO
With more than 30 years' experience in all aspects of the tree fruit industry, Keith Mathews became CEO in October for the new marketing firm,
Last Bite – Groceries, politics, land, fruit
Walter Bolinger became a fruit grower and packer after working for many years as a shopkeeper. Merchant, politician, real estate developer, orchardist—each of these terms
Good Point – Chris Schlect
America's system of delivering food to retail customers is a marvel. Without a cadre of governmental central planners dictating production levels, schedules of deliveries, or
Good to Know – Barritt, Evans
Since 1994, Washington State University has strived to develop new apple cultivars with outstanding eating quality as quickly as possible. After 15 years, the WSU
Heading for trouble
Tree pruning is one of the most important horticultural practices in an orchard. When you prune in winter, you are tested on how you can