Good Fruit Grower

October 2014

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T he former Soviet state of Kazakhstan is famed as the birthplace of the apple but two Washington State apple industry people who went on a mission trip there earlier this year found few orchards. And most of the orchards that did exist resembled those in Washington a generation ago with trees planted at low densities. Steve Weber, an apple grower, agricultural lender, and realtor based in Yakima, Washington, said he was struck by the challenges that Kazakh growers face in updating their orchards. Modern-day orcharding is cap- ital intensive, and it was immediately apparent that obtaining capital in Kazakhstan is diffi cult and a lim- iting factor. Weber and his travel companion Keith Mathews, chief executive offi cer of FirstFruits Marketing in Yakima, learned that the once abundant fruit-grow- ing region in the Ili River Valley, in southeastern Kazakhstan, fell victim to the economic collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the 1980s as state farms lost their subsidies and state-sponsored markets disappeared. A fi nal blow came in 1985 when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launched an anti-alcohol campaign, which led to the destruction of thousands of hectares of vineyard and orchard. Orchard area in Kazakhstan fell from more than 150,000 acres to less than half that, and what remained fell into disrepair. The Middle Earth Orchards Group LLC, based in Colorado, has train- ing centers in Kazakhstan to help young growers who lack resources and horticultural knowledge to improve their fruit production and progress in their lives. Mathews said Stan and Tammy Brown, who established the organization 19 years ago, have dedicated their lives to this cause, patiently focusing on helping to change one life at a time. MEO also organizes volunteer mission trips to Kazakhstan for U.S. fruit industry people. Those who have visited the area include Larry Knudson, Fred Nyberg, Tom Hale, and Fred Scarlett, as well as Weber and Mathews. The Kazakh government, which wants to see the abandoned land put 24 OCTOBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Apples Young Kazakhs are being trained in horticulture to help them improve orchard production. by Geraldine Warner Mission to KAZAKHSTA Locally grown apples on sale in Kazakhstan. The variety in the cen The others are Idared. Keith Mathews (left) and Steve Weber check the fruit supply at a traditional market in Kazakhstan.

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