Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/34757
New Varieties Honeycrisp season EXPANDED The first Honeycrisp apples arrived from Chile in mid-May. by Richard Lehnert R NH T4050V 4WD w/Cab (NEW) ight from the get-go, Fred Wescott thought Honeycrisp would be a new force in the apple market. And he bet on it. He planted orchards in Minnesota and northern Washington. And, now, his company is bringing Honeycrisp into the United States from partners in Chile, starting its transformation from a fall seasonal apple. “When Honeycrisp came out in Minnesota, it was apparent it had the ability to be far more important than other varieties,” Wescott said in an interview with Good Fruit Grower.He is president of Wescott Agri Products and Wescott Orchards, Elgin, Minnesota, which also owns Honeybear Brands, the name under which the company markets Honeycrisp apples. As proof of his insight, Wescott Orchards planted the first Honeycrisp in the state of Washington already 20 years ago, when the variety was first released by the Uni- versity of Minnesota. That was in addition to plantings made in the original Wescott Orchards in Minnesota. It was known from the start that Honeycrisp was a finicky apple and that site selection was important, Wescott said. He chose northern Washington as the place to plant and installed overhead cooling. “Honeycrisp does not do well in hot areas,” he said. As evidence mounted that consumers would pay a premium price for an apple they really liked, about ten years ago Wescott began to look for sites in the Southern Hemisphere where quality Honeycrisp could be grown. It was also evident then that Honeycrisp would not store well, so it could not be a year-round apple unless it could be grown in the Southern Hemisphere. He found such sites in southern Chile, south of the Santiago area where most Chilean fruit is grown, he said. In an interview with Good Fruit Grower, Bob Solberg, New Holland New & Lease Return Tractors for Orchards and Vineyards Low APR or Cash Back NH Boomer 50 4 WD (NEW) NH T4040 4 WD w/Cab (NEW) NH T4040V 2 WD (NEW) (2) NH T 4030V 4WD (2) NH T 4040V 4WD (7) NH 1510 NH T4030V 4 WD (NEW) (2) NH TN95FA (1) NH 1520 Call About Lease Returns 136 hrs 330 hrs 4WD 4WD, 80 PTO HP 4WD (1) NH T 4040F 2WD w/cab (2) NH T 4040F 4WD w/cab (2) NH TN85FA 4WD (1) Edwards DYNA-SCAT All Terrain Forklift NH T4040F 4 WD (NEW) NH WorkMaster 55 2 WD (NEW) 20 JUNE 2011 GOOD FRUIT GROWER SUNNYSID 509-837-2714 NEW HOLLAND, INC The Farmer’s Friend! E 526 W. YAKIMA VALLEY HIGHWAY SUNNYSIDE, WASHINGTON NH Rustler 120 dsl 4X4 w/electric tilt bed (NEW) NH T4050F 4 WD (NEW) 100 – 300 hrs 270 hrs 177 hrs/212 hrs NH T4030V 2 WD (NEW) the director of marketing and customer accounts for Honeybear Brands, credits Wescott with personally laying the groundwork for the Chilean venture. “Fred really worked on it,” he said. During the last ten years, Wescott evaluated pilot orchards in several Southern Hemisphere growing regions before deciding on an area of Chile that was the most conducive to consistently growing exceptional fruit, Solberg said. This year, the first Honeycrisp arrived in the United States from the Southern Hemisphere. Fresh Honeycrisp from Chile, after 14 to 18 days on a ship, were to land in Philadelphia in mid-May. Usually there aren’t any Honeycrisp left to buy after February. “The Honeybear brand was created to identify Honey- crisp grown under intense management practices in the best regions,” Wescott said. “We know there are places where Honeycrisp should not be grown. But because of consumer demand and the premium prices, a lot of poor Honeycrisp will be grown, and we wanted ours to be distinguished. “Our company is not the biggest seller of Honeycrisp, but we have been more involved in Honeycrisp than any other company, and for longer.” Wescott has exclusive rights to production of Honey- crisp in Chile. Volume will be limited in this introduction year and should rise as the trees there mature. Wescott said they are working with a partner in Chile and that “hundreds of acres” were growing—meaning a few hundred acres, not thousands. “We don’t want to overproduce the market,” Wescott said. “We know competitor companies are trying to put similar programs together and are planning to grow Hon- eycrisp in South Africa and New Zealand, but we don’t know how many or where they plan to market them. We don’t really know the size of the market.” Premium-priced “Honeycrisp was the first apple to prove that con- sumers would pay more for a really good apple,” Wescott said. “But Honeycrisp has to be a premium-priced apple. The cost of production is higher, the yield is lower, and the packout is less. If overproduction reduces the prices, we’ll quit growing Honeycrisp.” Wescott noted that, wherever they are grown, the vari- ety has similar problems. “The best Honeycrisp still grows here in the Midwest, where it was developed, but our production potential here is small. We need to find good production sites elsewhere.” www.goodfruit.com New trade- ins daily SAVE BIG $$$$$! wescott agri products