Stemilt Growers Inc.
Workers pack 44-pound boxes of pears at the Wenatchee Miller Street plant of Stemilt Growers Inc. The Wenatchee company installed two pear lines in the plant in 2008 for $7 million, allowing packing of organic and conventional pears simultaneously.
The 2010 Pacific Northwest pear crop could overlap the California pear crop more than usual because of an early Northwest spring.
That means Northwest marketers will need to adjust sales strategies to avoid going head-to-head with California marketers, said Kevin Moffitt, president of Th ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
When Stemilt Growers Inc. announced its acquisition of Dovex Fruit Co. on March 4, it was another example of what fruit and produce people say is a continuing consolidation of their industries in the West and nationwide.
As major retailers like Wal-Mart, Kroger and Costco have consolidate ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
When the question of labor availability arises among farm employers these days, it's always attached to the subject of immigration reform.
Few Western state producers say they expect difficulty finding workers this season. With other industries having shed employees during the recession, ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
It used to be that when the price of almonds went up, bakers and manufacturers would switch to hazelnuts or some other nut.
Then they'd switch back when almond prices dipped below those of the other nuts.
But lately, almonds have been holding their own as an ingredient. Market studie ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
As the worldwide demand for California almonds remains as strong as ever, there's always room for new orchard plantings, industry representatives say.
As the state's almond yield has quadrupled over the past three decades and as some 730,000 acres are under almond cultivation, almond grow ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
After suffering through three years of depressed prices, blackberry farmers are counting on a turnaround in 2010.
Judging by historical cycles, there's a possibility of a rebound, said Dave Dunn, general manager of the Willamette Valley Fruit Co., a grower-owned processor.
"The marke ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
Fruit orchards across the West have been getting a lot more crowded.
The trend toward progressively denser plantings has revolutionized the apple industry over the past half-century, and other orchard crops have been following that example, according to experts.
High-density orchards ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
The buildup in frozen blueberry supplies that has plagued the Northwest industry in recent years seems to be retreating, according to industry statistics.
Cold storage stocks of blueberries grew bloated in 2008 and 2009, increasing by as much as 40 percent year-over-year, according to USD ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
ODELL, Ore. -- It has been 20 years since the Stewart family converted its orchards to organic production. Cheryl Stewart, head of Columbia Gorge Organic, said the operation has had its ups and downs -- mostly down recently -- but she is staying the course.
"It's not profitable for organi ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
The Northwest typically sells about 30 percent of its apples, pears and cherries overseas, which strengthens domestic prices by lessening the amount of fruit sold in the U.S.
Despite the recession, the outlook for exporting the 2010 crops remains positive, Bruce Grim said. That's partly b ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
Kirk Cowan has been growing cherries for 25 years. He's had good years and bad years, but never as bad as 2009.
Cowan and his son, David, who also grows apples, winegrapes and hops near Grandview, Wash., figure they lost $8,000 per acre on part of their Bing crop.
The fruit was sold ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
Lori Ward remembers her son, Greg, as a shy young boy who grew into a pretty good salesman.
"He had a way about him," she said. "A great smile, and he treated everyone with respect."
Those qualities, she said, helped him successfully supplement the family farm income with direct sales of ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
A good hour or more before dawn on what will be a hot August day, John Tontz leaves his East Wenatchee, Wash., orchard with a truck load of peaches.
Some five hours and 240 miles later he arrives at Wenatchee Peach Man, a fruit stand named in his honor in Sandpoint, Idaho, where customers ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:09 PM
There's a lot of talk these days about immigration reform, but congressional action has yet to pick up speed.
Bipartisan support is building around the plodding efforts in Congress. Still, observers aren't offering much confidence that lawmakers will act quickly enough to move legislation ...
Saturday, May 22, 2010 10:09 AM
