Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/71703
® CANNING PEAR PRICE set for Pacific Northwest T he price for processing Bartlett pears grown in the Pacific Northwest has been set for the next three years. The two remaining Northwest processors that buy pears on the cash market—Del Monte Foods and North- west Packing (part of the Neil Jones Food Company)—will pay $260 a ton for field run, No. 1 grade pears for 2012, up from $256 a ton for 2011. The price will rise to $266 per ton for the 2013 crop year and $272 for 2014. The third pear processor, Independent Foods of Yakima, Washing- ton, does not buy on the cash market. Jay Grandy, manager of the Washington-Oregon Can- ning Pear Association, who negotiated the prices on behalf of growers, said the canned pear deal is in flux with the bankruptcy of the Yakima, Washington, fruit proces- sor Snokist Growers. It was the largest pear cannery in the country, with a capacity for 60,000 tons of pears, but had been operating at half capacity in recent years. Del Monte Foods and Pacific Coast Producers bought Snokist's assets, but are not expected to run the pear operation. In addition, Truitt Brothers of Salem, Oregon, which processed around 22,000 tons of pears annually, has closed its pear facility and transitioned its growers to Northwest Packing. Grandy said the agreement with the processors was reached more easily this year than in the past. His associ- ation's initial three-year proposal was a realistic one, he said. Del Monte responded with a counter offer. Grandy then made a second proposal that the processors accepted. "It was a fairly efficient process," he said. "We didn't have to go back and forth ten times making changes to our proposal. This is about as early as we have ever resolved it. "We were trying to get something we felt might help stabilize the grower situation with all this turmoil," he said. "With Truitt and Snokist dropping out of the busi- ness, there's a fair amount of effort being put forth by the other three companies to try to pick up that tonnage to process it. Having the price stable and firm and set makes that process a lot more logical for everyone." —G. Warner The standard by which all others are measured "My Brother Bill and I farm 300 acres of blueberries here in WIND MACHINES— These machines really work Michigan. We have solid-set irrigation and use water to frost protect, we have four Orchard Rite® Wind Machines to protect where we can't get water (pumping 3,000 gallons of water per minute, we just don't have enough water to cover the farm). We'll often have temperatures around 26 to 28 degrees. With our wind machines, we can gain 3 to 5 degrees. The auto start option has been our sav- ior on cold nights. It just gives me 4 less things to do. I wouldn't buy anoth- er one without autostart. We have nine more Wind Orchard Rite® Machines in partnership operations in Washington and Oregon. I can tell you these machines really work: They've saved a lot of fruit." George and Bill Fritz My Orchard-Rites® Brookside Farms; Gobles, Michigan paid for themselves For nearly two decades, I have been farming vinifera grapes in the Grand River Val- ley of Ohio. Starting with a 2- acre leased field, my family now owns 85 acres and man- ages another 80 acres for three wineries. Today hun- dreds of wind machines dot the east coast fruit region, but back in 1995 when we installed our first machine, nobody was running them. Today we use five machines to move cold air winter and BOB KOEHLER promoted by Pear Bureau ager. In this new position, he will serve as the liaison between Kevin Moffitt, Pear Bureau president, and the regional managers in territories throughout the United States and Canada. He will lead the develop- ment of fresh pear marketing strategies in both countries. Koehler, whose own territory T includes the northeastern United States and Canada, will continue to work with accounts in his region, but will be involved in marketing initiatives for the entire domestic market. Before joining the Pear Bureau's marketing team in 1989, Koehler was assistant produce merchandiser for Safeway's Denver division for 21 years. www.goodfruit.com he Pear Bureau Northwest has promoted Bob Koehler to lead regional marketing man- spring in frost/winterkill areas. The original propane machine now has 500 hours and still starts on the first or second crank at sub- zero temperatures. The most commonly asked question about our Orchard Rites® are: 1). Do they work? & 2). How much do they raise the winter low temperature? In our best site, currently protected by one 165hp. unit, the machine protects up to 15 at-risk acres and raises temper- ature 8-12° F. on the coldest January nights when started early. On poorer sites, less temperature increase is to be expected (3-4° F.), although the machines clearly lessen the time that the vineyard spends at the nights lowest temperatures. On a 10 acre site, with wine grapes at $1,500/ton, avoiding a one-time 1.6 tpa loss will cover the initial investment. On any one of the coldest nights between 2003-2005, each Orchard Rite® paid for itself." Gene Sigel South River Vineyard, Grand River Valley, Ohio 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 JULY 2012 7