Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/418083
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER DECEMBER 2014 19 Department of Agriculture. The agency's many programs included building farmworker housing, helping to build rural infrastructure, and providing loans to businesses to produce value-added agriculture products. "But, all good things come to an end, including pres- idential administrations," DeVaney said, "And 2009 was not a good time to be a Republican or unemployed." Hastings had been appointed a ranking member of the House's Natural Resources Committee, so DeVaney returned to work at Hastings' office in Washington, D.C., though his home was in Yakima. His wife, Karen, who was caring for their two young sons, was not interested in relo- cating to the capital. When Keith Mathews left as man- ager of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association, DeVaney successfully applied. He was appointed presi- dent of the Tree Fruit Association last summer. Taxes DeVaney said state legislators need to be aware that the tree fruit industry is a huge benefit to the state's economy and not one they should take for granted. If they make policy decisions that harm the industry, many thousands of jobs could be in jeopardy. He's concerned about how the legislature plans to pay for education and road maintenance, for example. "They're looking for billions of additional dollars to fund education and other priorities," he said. "Our industry can't easily absorb a lot of additional costs when we're trying to market a large crop in a competitive environment. "If they make regulations that are difficult or expensive to comply with, we could find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage very quickly and lose a lot of market share. International and domestic consumers love our products, but they're sensitive to price." He's particularly concerned that the state might increase gas taxes to compensate for a shortfall in reve- nues because of more fuel-efficient vehicles or introduce a carbon cap-and-trade scheme or carbon tax. About 97 percent of Washington's apples are shipped out of state. He pointed out that the industry has become even more reliant on trucks for shipping fruit to market since rail capacity has been declining at the same time as crop volumes have been increasing. "Having the transportation to move that crop is very important," he said. "It's a concern because we're not easily going to switch to electrically powered vehicles." • HAAS JOINS new association R anie Haas has joined the Washington State Tree Fruit Association as director of regulatory and industry affairs. She will focus on how the various state agencies are implementing reg- ulations that impact the tree fruit industry. Haas grew up on an orchard in Wapato, Washington. After earning a bachelor's degree in politi- cal science from Central Washington University in 1997, s h e w o r k e d a t Congressman Doc Hasting's office in Yakima for six years. She then worked in hop purchasing for Anheuser-Busch and most recently was a sales assistant for Washington Fruit and Produce Company. Orchard / Vineyard Tractors 50 PTO to 90 PTO HP, 4WD Some Rental Returns Available. PARTS • SALES • SERVICE CENTRAL WASHINGTON EQUIPMENT 4020 N. Chelan Hwy • Wenatchee, Washington 509-663-8187 1-800-235-1733 YAKIMA IMPLEMENT & IRRIGATION 1922 S. First Street • Yakima, Washington 509-452-5867 1-800-572-2239 BIG CA$H DISCOUNTS or low APRs Ranie Haas are planted with the most popular seedling, semi-dwarf and dwarf varieties: Our Fields Prunus avium/P. mahaleb M.106/M.7/M.26/B.118 Prunus EMLA Colt OHxF Series Geneva® Series M.9 Clones We also grow a great selection of rootstock varieties for apple, peach, pear and plum including: Like our rootstock, our service will grow on you. All fruit tree rootstock is Oregon certified virus-free. MALUS ANTONOVKA MALUS DOMESTICA PRUNUS PERSICA 'LOVELL PRUNUS CERACIFERA PRUNUS MARIANA PRUNAS MYROBALAN PYRUS CALLERYANA PYRUS COMMUNIS PYRUS USSERIENSIS APPLE PEACH PLUM PEAR PROVINCE QUINCE CANBY, OREGON WWW.WILLAMETTENURS ERIES.COM ( 503 ) 263-6405 TOLL FREE: ( 800 ) 825-2108