Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/366055
I t's not been a banner year for California tree fruit. Cherry yields were disappointing, hail damaged some stone fruit, and growers are coping with an epic drought. But the pear crop is a bright spot. "Fortunately, we do have a pear crop," said Pat- rick Archibeque, chief executive offi cer of Rivermaid Trading Company in Lodi, California, the largest pear growing and packing operation in the state and a major cherry grower and packer. Rivermaid Trading, formerly called All State Pack- ers, is owned by Brian Machado and Chiles Wilson. The two were childhood friends who ended up working together after college at the All State packing house in Lodi. In 1993, they bought out owners of the company and renamed it Rivermaid Trading in 2011 as a tribute to the Rivermaid label. Today, the company handles pears, cherries, and soft fruit, and has a related gift fruit busi- ness (see "Gift fruit business grows"). "We have a nice, full crop of Bartlett pears, and fruit is very clean," Archibeque said. "And the Starkrimson crop is big, but Bosc will be signifi cantly reduced this year." Rivermaid Trading packs around ten different pear varieties. California's total pear production has averaged around 190,000 tons, with an average of 3.9 million boxes (36 pounds) shipped to the fresh market annually for the past four years, according to the California Pear Advisory Board. Pear harvest traditionally begins around late July or the fi rst of August but started a week or so early this year. The Bartlett crop was estimated at 2.6 million boxes this year, down slightly from the four-year average of 2.9 million packages, according to the Pear Advisory Board. Bosc (including Golden Russet Bosc) will be down some this year, too, in part due to weather, but mostly because of the recent exit of major pear grower Naumes, Inc. that's sending shock waves through the industry. At the end of last year, Naumes, which is based in Medford, Oregon, sold nearly 1,500 acres of its northern California acreage comprising pears, cherries, and other tree fruit. About 1,000 acres of the Naumes property were pears. The new owner has already removed the pear trees for replacement with other crops. "The California Bosc market has been shocked by the removal of the Naumes acreage," Archibeque said. From 2010 to 2013, California growers produced an annual average of 11,120 tons of Bosc varieties, according to Pear Board data, and Naumes produced about 40 per- cent of that tonnage, or around 5,000 tons. In addition, Archibeque said, the Bosc crop is down signifi cantly from the lack of winter chilling hours. Many of the fruit were in clusters on the tree instead of more evenly spaced out in twos or threes, he said, and size will be impacted. "Bosc is one that didn't come through the winter good, but other varieties like Comice and our Rivermaid Red variety have full crops." Fresh versus processed California's pear industry is still somewhat cannery dependent. Canners demand about 100,000 tons annu- ally, Archibeque said, which is more than half of the total Bartlett production, which came in at 170,000 tons last year. However, the cannery picture is vastly different than a decade or so ago, and growers are in a much better position these days. The decline in canned food sales resulted in consoli- dation of canners and unprofi table prices for growers. In response, California growers shifted more Bartletts to the fresh market, removed acreage, and replanted with more attractive crops like wine grapes, cherries, and nuts. 24 SEPTEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Pears Acreage removal in California has stabilized, and grower returns have been good. by Melissa Hansen IN GOLDEN STATE Pears shine bright COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA PEAR ADVISORY BOARD California's pear crop is a bright spot for 2014. Patrick Archibeque