Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/56260
® WIND MACHINES— 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. WSU recruiting Pome fruit physiologist is a priority. by Geraldine Warner W ashington State University is beginning the hiring process for two new endowed position supported by the special assess- ment that apple and pear growers will begin paying this year through the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission. One position is an applied physiologist position, which will likely be based at WSU's Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, and the other is a tree fruit extension team leader. Last year, Washington apple and pear growers voted in favor of a special research assessment of $1 a ton in order to raise $27 million over the next eight years or so to enhance WSU's research and extension efforts in tree fruits. The assessment will begin to be collected as the 2012 crops are sold. The endowment funds will provide a total of $1.5 million in operating money for each of six research positions, which the university will maintain in perpetuity. The university will pay salaries and benefits. Some of the assessment funds will also be used to sup- port five new endowed extension positions to enhance information and technology transfer. The WSU Tree Fruit Endowment Advisory Committee has identified the posi- tion of tree fruit extension leader as the top priority. This person would coordinate the transfer of information and technology statewide. The university will probably pro- vide half the funding for this position and the industry will contribute matching dollars, said Dr. Jim McFerson, Research Commission manager. The aim is to have the new people in place before the end of 2012, said Jake Gutzwiler, who is chair of the Endowment Advisory Committee. It's not been decided where the new extension team leader will be based, but none of the endowed positions will be located at WSU's main Pullman campus. They will be at the research and extension centers in either Prosser or Wenatchee, so they are close to the industry. Butler said there's an urgent need for a new physiolo- gist with the recent retirement of Drs. Don Elfving and Larry Schrader, who were based in Wenatchee. • INPUT SOUGHT on stone fruit referendum A special assessment of $1 a ton on apples and pears, which growers approved in a referendum last year, will be used by Washington State Uni- versity strictly to enhance research and technology transfer relating to those two crops, says Dr. Jim McFerson, manager of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission. "We want it to be as clear as possible and make sure there's not a whisper of a doubt that the special assessment dollars are doing exactly what growers voted on," he said. The commission will begin collecting the assess- ment on the 2012 crops. A majority of cherry and stone fruit growers did not vote in favor of a special assessment on those crops. At the Washington State Fruit Commission's board 1615 W. Ahtanum • Yakima, WA 98903 • 509-248-8785, ext. 612 For the representative nearest you, visit our website: www.orchard-rite.com 8 MARCH 1, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER meeting on March 14 in Yakima, Jake Gutzwiler, chair of the WSU Tree Fruit Endowment Advisory Commit- tee, and committee member Tom Butler will discuss the pros and cons, from the industry's point of view, of running another referendum for cherries and stone fruits. McFerson said the Advisory Committee will not lead the charge for a new referendum but wants input from the industry. —G. Warner www.goodfruit.com