Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/128999
Cherry insurance REDUCES RISK T he federal cherry crop insurance program can partially reimburse growers if returns fall short because of fruit damage, poor quality, or low prices. But the program does not provide any incentive for growers to pick poor quality fruit and take it to the packing house, says Dave Paul, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency in Spokane, Washington. The intent of the Actual Revenue History insurance program was to provide growers with meaningful revenue protection for perishable crops for which no representative futures market exists. At a grower meeting last winter, a fruit marketer said that cherry insurance programs were forcing growers to pick their fruit and take it to the warehouse, even if there was no market for it, in order to by Geraldine Warner collect their insurance checks. He said he hoped that insurance programs could be changed, otherwise they would be the death of the industry. But Paul said there's no reason for a grower who's insured under the ARH cherry program to take all their fruit to the packer if the market is oversupplied because it won't make any difference to the amount of insurance the grower collects. In fact, the program is designed not to Insurance does not force growers to pick unmarketable fruit. K EEP D EER O UT WITH photo by geraldine warner Cherries Cherry insurance can provide a financial shelter for growers when the crop is rained on. disrupt the market forces. The ARH program is the main one available to cherry growers. False assumption Marvin Lapp, field horticulturist at Washington Fruit and Produce Company, Yakima, who has served on a crop insurance advisory committee, said it's not insurance that's going to kill the industry but overproduction, particularly of small cherries. "It's a false assumption that the crop insurance forces people to pick fruit that's not worthwhile. They are not required to pick it for the insurance." The way the program works is this: Payments are based on the grower's actual revenue in past seasons, so growers are asked to provide production, acreage, and cherry revenue information for at least four years (up to ten) and the average annual revenue is calculated. If growers don't have their own records, average revenues for the county where the orchard is located are used instead. K EEP B IRDS O UT GUARANTEED! WITH "I've purchased 4 Deer Shield units to keep deer out of my client's vineyards and from eating the new shoots. "Bird Gard was successful at reducing bird damage to our cherries! We tested Bird Gard on one of our early the deer have stayed away. decrease in bird damage. We no longer have any deer damage in the vineyards protected by Deer Shield. We were impressed enough we relocated the unit to another orchard for a second trial and had similar results. We plan on buying more units." Fact is the Deer Shields are working so well I'm going to order 2 more!" Craig Cunningham, Cunningham Viticulture Services, LLC Traverse City, Michigan Ian Chandler, Field Operations Manager, Orchard View Farms, Hood River, OR The decision to invest in new ideas is never easy, but neither is watching deer or birds destroy your hard work. We've been keeping birds out of crops for more than 25 years and our new generation of bird and deer control products have been proven to be completely effective for the entire season. Protects up to 30 acres We'll make your decision to invest in Bird Gard real easy: Try any Bird Gard or Deer Shield product for an entire year. return it for a full refund of your purchase price. Electronic Deer Control 18 May 15, 2013 GOOD FRUIT GROWER 888-332-2328 www.BirdGard.com www.DeerShieldTech.com The World Leader in Electronic Bird Control www.goodfruit.com