Good Fruit Grower

November 2014

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S teve Zediker, president of the Washington State Horticultural Association, went to Washington, D.C., last winter for a meeting of the U.S. Apple Association. There, he visited the Jefferson Memorial and was struck by a Jefferson quotation inscribed on the southeast interior wall. He noted the reference to "institutions" and said to himself, "I think that fi ts our association to a T." The words were the inspiration behind the theme for the Hort Association's 110th annual meeting, which is: "With new discoveries and new truths, we advance." The association will meet December 1-3 in Kennewick amidst a number of changes. It's the fi rst time that the event will be held in the Tri-Cities, a relatively new fruit growing area of the state. Kennewick's Three Rivers Convention Center is larger than comparable facilities in Wenatchee and Yakima, where meetings have traditionally been held. The trade show, which will be bigger than ever, is in the Toyota Center, adjacent to the meeting. But it's also the Hort Association's last meeting. Immediately afterward, the association will merge into the new Washington State Tree Fruit Association, as did the former Washington Growers Clearing House Asso- ciation, Wenatchee Valley Traffi c Association, and the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association. Zediker said the tree fruit industry needs to change based on new discoveries, new truths, and new advancements. "We're in a civilized society that has to continue to advance and evolve and sometimes we have to change our lives to adapt to that," he said. "We have four insti- tutions that have decided to merge because that makes good sense. The truth is we have to be one to be stronger." The meeting is designed to help growers make changes on their farms. "We have a fi nite amount of land, so we have to be more effi cient with it," Zediker said. "We don't have an abundant amount of labor, and our source of labor has changed. We have a limited amount of water, and we have to become better stewards of it." In addition, consumer tastes have been chang- ing. "They expect something to fi t their need or want," Zediker said. "We're in a society that doesn't accept something that's close enough any more, so we need to have different varieties. We just continue to fi ne tune our industry, just like every other business has to." Gwen Hoheisel, Washington State University exten- sion specialist based in the Tri-Cities, worked with Zediker to plan the meeting program. One of their goals was to help growers understand some of the science behind horticultural practices and pest management and teach them how to move forward. "This industry has a lot of new tools that can be used, but sometimes people don't know how to use them or access them," she said. Dr. Jay Brunner, director and entomologist at WSU's Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, who will present the Batjer memorial address, will dis- cuss factors that will shape the future of pest control. Horticulturist Stuart Tustin from the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, will speak on December 1 about a meeting of the minds on orchard systems and production, which occurred earlier this year when Cornell University hosted a symposium of the International Society for Horticultural Science. (See the article "Adequate versus perfect," on page 14.) In a later session, Tustin will answer the question "Can light interception of intensive apple and pear orchard systems be increased?" Advancing with the times The annual Washington hort meeting will assemble experts who can help growers move forward in their operations. by Geraldine Warner "I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times." —Thomas Jefferson THOMAS JEFFERSON IN THE THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL COURTESY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES We're putting the Annual Meeting and Hort Expo in your hands WA Hort 14 guidebook.com/app/wahort14/ Get the app! ree Rivers Convention Center Kennewick, Washington December 1, 2 & 3 WSHA 110 th ANNUAL MEETING & NW HORT EXPO "With New Discoveries and New Truths, We Advance" 12 NOVEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com

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