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backs new center industry Wine The Washington Wine Why stop at an apple a day? Employee Benefits from Kibble & Prentice You deserve an insurance broker who works as hard as you do. Professionals at Kibble & Prentice specialize in building healthy benefits plans for your business, and focus on communicating changing laws to keep you compliant. Our popular Benefits Resource Center handles your employees' benefit inquiries, reducing the burden on your HR department. Contact us for a consultation. Commission's commitment underpins fundraising effort for new wine science center. by Geraldine Warner T Employee Benefits · Commercial Insurance · Succession Planning · Retirement Plan Services · Private Client Services kpcom.com 800.767.0650 eNews Sign up to receive our free e-newsletter with the latest news from the tree fruit and wine grape industries, and links to our Web exclusive articles and features. The redesigned Good Fruit Grower Web site, with its breaking news, blogs, and archived articles, will keep you informed between our print magazine issues and connected with the fruit growing community. www.goodfruit.com 28 OCTOBER 2011 GOOD FRUIT GROWER updates he Washington Wine Commission's commit- ment of $7.4 million towards the cost of building a Wine Science Center at Washington State Uni- versity's Tri-Cities campus gives the fundraising effort an important boost, says Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling, director of WSU's viticulture and enology program. The center will house WSU's rapidly expanding viticul- ture and enology program. Currently, teaching and research activities in viticulture and enology are scattered between WSU's Pullman and Tri-Cities campuses and the Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center at Prosser. WSU currently has 47 students who have declared majors in viticulture and enology, 20 of whom are in the Tri-Cities and the rest in Pullman, Henick-Kling said. The estimated cost of the center is $23.25 million. Funds committed by the Wine Commission will be raised through assessments on grape and wine production for the next ten years or so. The grape assessment will increase from $10 to $12 a ton and the wine assessment from 6 to 8 cents a gallon, beginning with the 2011 crop. The building will be situated on land donated by the Port of Benton and developed by a Public Development Authority created by the City of Richland. PDA board members were due to be selected by October. The next step will be to create a preliminary design for the three- story, 25,000-square-foot building. Funds from the Wine Commission will be used to issue bonds to help finance the project. Henick-Kling said funding proposals have also been submitted to federal and state agencies. The commitment by the Wine Com- mission on behalf of the wine industry should make it easier to secure further funding, whether through grants or private donations, he said. "They are all asking, 'Is the wine industry behind this?' and with this commitment, it's easy to see they are." The new center will facilitate research tailored to the needs of the Washington industry, such as winter hardi- ness, increasing vineyard and winery productivity, and enhancing grape and wine quality. "It's the right place and the right thing to do," Henick- Kling said. "We will find a way to make it happen—and hopefully soon—because we need the space and the resources to do the work for the industry." The Wine Science Center is the priority in a package of enhancements that WSU intends to make to its viticul- ture and enology program. The university hopes to raise $32 million through its Campaign for Wine. The addi- tional funds would pay for two endowed professorships and help fund undergraduate and graduate students focusing on viticulture, enology, and business. As of late August, individual donations totaled $1.5 million. • www.goodfruit.com Click on any article or photo to learn more at www.goodfruit.com. Apple crop varies across the country harvest is running 10 days ahead of normal. Growers in New York had one of the best growing seasons in a long time. In Michigan, a May freeze shortened the crop by about half. In Washington, an unusually cool, wet spring and late summer resulted in smaller fruit and some russeting, but good color on the red varieties. A Mike Nicholson checks Rubens apples in a north central Washington orchard. WASHINGTON'S GRAPE HARVEST IS OFF TO A SLOW START Washington State's grape harvest is finally underway after one of the latest starts in many years. Wine grapes throughout the state are now being picked and juice grape will start in full crush September 27. Mike Concienne of National Grape Cooperative Associa- tion (Welch's) in Grandview reports they will crush Niagara juice grapes first and then move into Concords the first week of October. The targeted October 3 Concord start date will be the latest start for Con- cords since 1971, he said, adding that the average start date is September 18. Wine barrels at Maryhill Winery wait to be filled, just as many of Washington State's wineries wait for grapes to crush. WASHINGTON RECEIVES FUNDING The WSDA has received $3.7 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agri - culture to allocate to projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. CONTACT Mail: Good Fruit Grower WSU RECRUITING GRAPE AND TREE FRUIT EXTENSION EDUCATORS Washington State's grape industry has several opportunities to participate in the interview process for the viticulture exten- sion specialist posi- tion. Michelle Moyer, graduate research assistant from Cornell University, will visit Washington this week, meeting with WSU staff and industry. Moyer received her bachelor's of science degree in 2005 from the University of Wis- Michelle Moyer consin, Madison, and has been at Cornell since then working on her master's and doctorate degrees in plant pathology. WSU is readvertising the open tree fruit Extension position for Yakima County. Dr. Jim Olmstead, the last person to hold the position, left in the summer of 2009 to be the blueberry breeder at the University of Florida. pple growers around the country have been facing different challenges this season. In Pennsylvania, apples are running small because of a two- month dry spell in late summer and Phone: 509-853-3520 105 South 18th Street, Suite 217 1-800-487-9946 Yakima, Washington 98901 FAX 509-853-3521 Internet: www.goodfruit.com Staff e-mail directory Melissa Hansen Courtesy Chelan Fresh Marketing