Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/603228
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower DECEMBER 2015 19 largest organic acreage with shipped vol- ume growing annually. Price premiums remained strong all season, with prices for organic double that of conventional for Gala, Fuji, and Red and Golden Delicious. Washington organic pear shipped volume rose 18 percent in 2014 to a record 1 million boxes, and average prices also increased over the previous year. Bartlett and d'Anjou continue to account for two-thirds of the acreage. Organic cherry acreage increased slightly in 2013 and 2014, but is still below the 2009 peak of 2,437 acres. Average prices were slightly lower than the previous year, but were $20 a box higher than conventional. T h e r e c e n t l y - r e - leased U.S. Department of Agriculture National A g r i c u l t u r a l S t a t i s t i c s Service 2014 organic pro- ducers survey confi rms that Washington State remains the leading producer of organic apples, pears, and cherries. Results for certi- fi ed area, production, and sales land are presented in Table 1 (on page 16) to compare Washington to national numbers. (The NASS Washington numbers differ from the acreage data we gather directly from certifiers for our annual organic tree fruit update, as NASS only reports har- vested acres and not all pro- ducers respond to the NASS surveys.) For a complete break- down of the NASS report, visit www.agcensus.usda. g o v / P u b l i c a t i o n s / 2 0 1 2 / Online_Resources/Organics. In all cases, the state has a greater share of production and sales than that of farms or acres. For apples, 90 percent of the certifi ed apples reported nation- ally were sold fresh, and Washington State accounted for 93 percent of these (Table 2). The latest data on organic tree fruit area and production for Washington State can be found online at csanr.wsu. edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/WA_ OrgTreeFr2014_annotate_fi nal.pdf. • 50 400 300 200 100 25 MILLION POUNDS MILLION POUNDS 93% of U.S. total U.S. WA U.S. WA 41% of U.S. total Table 2: Organic apples Certifi ed organic apple production in the U.S. and Washington State, 2014. FRESH PROCESSED SOURCE: USDA-NASS 2014 ORGANIC PRODUCER SURVEY ORGANIC SESSION The annual meeting's session on organics will be held 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, December 8, at the Yakima Convention Center. Your trusted source. 800.743.2125 | northwestfcs.com · Real Estate Financing · Operating Lines of Credit · Country Home & Lot Loans · Crop Insurance * We support agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services, today and tomorrow. Here to Help You Grow This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer. *Serviced through Northwest Farm Credit Services Insurance Agency.