January 9, 2015
CapitalPress.com
13
Table grape crop second largest ever
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
Table grape growers in Cal-
ifornia’s San Joaquin Valley
have wrapped up the harvest
of what will likely be their
second largest crop in history
despite drought-related water
shutoffs that forced many of
them to rely on wells.
Producers were on track to
meet a mid-harvest estimate
of 105.9 million 19-pound
boxes — short of last year’s
record 116.3 million-box haul
but ahead of the 101.3 million
containers turned out in 2012,
said Kathleen Nave, president
of the Fresno-based California
Table Grape Commission.
Tim Hearden/Capital Press
Grapes fill a bin at a farmers’ market in Davis, Calif. Table grape
growers in California have likely turned out their second largest
crop in history despite having been impacted by the drought.
“We are still shipping from
California, and expect to be
shipping into the middle of
January,” Nave said. “It was
an early season. … Prices have
been very good. Overall qual-
ity has been very good and of
course prices typically reflect
that. Prices were particularly
strong in the fall.”
The higher prices for most
varieties helped producers
make up for the drop in yield,
said Sean Stockton, president
of Sundale Sales in Tulare,
Calif.
“As a whole, the overall av-
erage price was a little higher
than last year, which makes
economic sense — with
yields being down, the prices
would be higher,” Stockton
said. “The biggest thing that
concerns California farmers
right now is water, and the in-
creased price of labor. … Ta-
ble grapes are one of the most
expensive crops to grow.”
Many growers were affect-
ed by the U.S. Bureau of Rec-
lamation’s shutoff of irrigation
water from the Central Valley
Project and had to rely on low-
er-quality well water, which
affected yields, Stockton said.
“When you lose a 16th ...
on berry size, you lose quite
a bit of production,” he said.
“That’s probably pretty con-
sistent with what the industry
saw this year.”
The picking of grapes for
the fresh market typically
begins in late June and con-
tinues into December, with
shipments proceeding through
January. The harvest typically
starts in the Coachella Valley
and then gets going in the San
Joaquin Valley, where the bulk
of the state’s table grapes are
grown.
Fresh-market grape pro-
duction is but a small portion
of the overall grape crop. The
USDA’s National Agricul-
tural Statistics Service office
in Sacramento expected rai-
sin-type grape growers to end
up with a seasonal crop of 1.95
million tons, down 13 percent
from last year. Winegrape pro-
duction — which represents
55 percent of grapes grown in
California — was forecast at
3.9 million tons, down 8 per-
cent from 2013.
In addition to the drought,
hail during the bloom neg-
atively affected some vine-
yards, NASS reported.
Several Wash. crops see gains NW Horticultural
Council hires staff
KENNEWICK,
Wash.
(AP) — The state’s top agri-
cultural commodities — in-
cluding apples, milk and wheat
— were worth $4.5 billion to
farmers, according to a recent-
ly released federal report.
Several of the state’s most
valuable crops saw gains in the
U. S. Department of Agricul-
ture review, and wine produc-
tion became a larger player the
industry, the Tri-City Herald
reported.
Apples, the state’s most
valuable crop, were worth
nearly 12 percent less in 2013
because of a record crop and
higher prices the previous
year.
Bud Hover, director of the
state Department of Agricul-
ture, said apples may have
peaked again in 2014. Farmers
picked a record 150 million
40-pound boxes of apples last
year and started exporting Red
and Golden Delicious apples
to China.
Starting this month, China
is expected to accept all Wash-
ington apple varieties.
The future of the wine in-
dustry also appears bright,
Hover said.
Washington wines are per-
forming well in competitions,
and there is a growing demand
for the state’s wine, including
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Gala apples pass through the last human defect sorting prior to optical sorting, sizing and grading at
Zirkle Fruit Co., in Yakima, Wash., on Oct. 8. Apples were Washington’s most valuable crop in 2013,
according to state statistics.
exports. “We grow such high
quality fruit for wine making,”
he said.
The state’s wine grapes
have seen steady increases
in recent years, and the 2013
crop value grew more than 19
percent to $233.1 million.
The state’s wine industry is
expected to continue to grow
because growers have added
and expanded vineyards, and
it takes several years for new
vines to mature and produce a
full crop.
The state’s blueberries hit
records in acreage and yield
during 2013. However, the
value of blueberries dropped to
about $71.6 million, according
to the data. That’s a 16 percent
cut from the previous year.
Washington farmers picked
about 9,000 acres of blueber-
ries in 2013. In all, about 81.6
million pounds of blueberries
were harvested.
Hops also have become
more prominent with the rise
of microbreweries, which tend
to use more hops for brewing.
Hover said he expected that
demand to continue to climb.
Hops were worth $184.9 mil-
lion in 2013, a 28 percent jump
from the previous year.
YAKIMA, Wash. — A for-
mer congressional aide is be-
coming a vice president of the
Northwest Horticultural Coun-
cil in Yakima and may become
a key leader in its future.
Kate Woods, 30, became
an intern for Washington’s 4th
District Congressman, Doc
Hastings, in 2003, and joined
his staff full time in 2005. She
has been his legislative director
since 2011.
With Hastings’ retirement
from Congress, Woods joins
NHC on Jan. 7. She likely will
work on some international
trade duties, food safety and
media relations, said Chris
Schlect, NHC president.
“The thinking is she will
be a key leader in the years
ahead,” Schlect said.
Schlect, 63, said he’s plan-
ning to retire in June 2017, at
which time Mark Powers, ex-
ecutive vice president, proba-
bly will become president.
Powers, who has focused
on international trade, will now
shift more toward domestic is-
sues including labor that have
been Schlect’s domain.
“Our board wants to see
Woods
Toop
continuity when anyone on
our staff leaves, including me,”
Schlect said. “Our industry is
too big and important to not
have expertise. I think we’re
well on our way to doing that
with our two new hires.”
Drew Toop, 25, became
the council’s regulatory infor-
mation specialist, Dec. 8. He
reviews U.S. and internation-
al data on technical standards
relating to agricultural goods,
looking for developments that
relate to apples, pears and cher-
ries.
Toop was born and raised
in Yakima. He graduated from
Washington State University
in 2011 with degrees in En-
glish and Chinese Language
and Culture. He studied at Har-
bin Institute of Technology in
Northeast China before gradu-
ating from WSU and attended
National Taiwan University af-
terward. He lived in Taiwan for
2 1/2 years and taught English.
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