Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/43042
® WIND MACHINES— "China's future labor force is gone. Manufacturing is already returning to America." —Kenneth Gronbach He is a huge fan of the new Generation Y. They have— and need to have—a work ethic. They will be good employees. They are, and will need to be, creative and entrepreneurial to find work. They are not bigoted or racist. They don't see color. "If you're a bigot, get over it," he said. "Our kids will intermarry. They're the Baby Blenders. By 2025, the next generation won't have any redheads." Even more important, this large generation will pro- vide the basis for the financial health of Social Security and the health care system. Gronbach is also a fan of Latinos, of which the United States now has 60 million. He likes their work ethic and their focus on family values. Half of the births now occur- ring in the United States are Latinos. It is important that they are brought into the system and not be kept margin- alized, he said. Do Latinos eat apples? You bet they do. And there are lots of young people joining in, as current growth in fresh- market sales attest. "The best days are ahead of us," he said. Why? "We're the only industrialized nation in western culture that had kids. Generation Y is bigger than the boomer generation. Generation Y is going to be the most productive generation in our history." China and Walmart Gronbach is not optimistic about the future of China or Europe, or Japan either. China, in 1979, began a one- child policy to limit family size and population growth— and prevented 400 million Chinese children from being born. As a consequence, he said, China is going to decelerate as fast as it advanced. "China's future labor force is gone," he said. "Manufac- turing is already returning to America." Because China depended on the family as its form of Social Security, the short-term prosperity gained by small families will not be there for the aging. China benefited from the large U.S. baby-boomer population, for whom they manufactured things that the U.S. quit manufacturing when the small Generation X came into the work force. The boomers also benefited Walmart, which sold these products "cheap and deep," with no selection. "Try getting a modern young American to shop at Walmart," Gronbach said. "Walmart is done." Russia's population also failed to grow, and it, like China, will suffer a missing generation of laborers. The Europeans have also greatly reduced their population growth and are filling the gap with immigrants from North Africa. "The Muslims will not assimilate," Gronbach said. Trouble ahead for Europe. Japan's population has also stopped growing and is aging. Not everything will be perfect in America, Gronbach agrees. More young people and a shortage of jobs means more crime, and America already has more people in prison than any other country in the world. That's a prob- lem that needs to be addressed. Young people also have more traffic accidents, so emergency rooms, get ready. But we need to embrace Generation Y, he says. And the market for apples? "The best days are ahead of us," Gronbach said. • www.goodfruit.com We've been able to pick up 7 to 8 degrees with a good inversion layer frost The standard by which all others are measured We've been farming for 3 generations, and for 30 years we've been exclusively tree fruit. About 4 years ago we put in our first Orchards Rite® fan and have since added 2 more. Before we put in these machines, we never had a full crop in the valley acreage, where we typically will be around 25-28 degrees on some nights. With these machines we've been able to pick up 7 to 8 degrees with a good strong inversion layer. Since we put in these machines, we've had a full crop most years. We've had apples when some of the neighbors didn't have any. When we're ready, we'll certainly be going back to Orchard Rite® them!" to add new machines. We're a firm believer in Mike VanAgtmael VanAgtmael Orchards Hart, Michigan They paid for themselves in one year We farm 150 acres of Pistachios at an elevation of 4,500 feet. In February, we put in nine Orchard Rite® Wind Machines and in April our temperatures dropped to as low as 25 and 26 degrees on three different nights. I'm sure we would have lost 80% of our crop this spring without our wind machines. They lit- erally paid for themselves in one year. We like the Ford V-10 engine with the auto start option and have found with a good inversion we can consistently bring the temperature up 3-5 degrees, sometimes even 7 degrees. It's a no brainer to use wind machines in this part of the country. Almost all of the Pistachio farmers in our area use Orchard Rite® Wind Machines. When it comes to frost pro- tection, I don't know of anything that performs as well as wind machines. Don Fortman Wilcox, AZ Let us help you solve your unique frost control needs. 1615 W. Ahtanum • Yakima, WA 98903 • 509-248-8785, ext. 612 For the representative nearest you, visit our website: www.orchard-rite.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER OCTOBER 2011 15