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May 29, 2015 CapitalPress.com 7 Apples to flow between U.S., China By DAN WHEAT Capital Press YAKIMA, Wash. — China will be allowed to export apples to the United States beginning May 26 and the U.S. will be allowed to export all varieties of apples to China “on or around May 26,” according to Northwest Fruit Ex- porters in Yakima. The USDA has announced those developments, said Fred Scarlett, NFE manager. “I think it will be a valuable market for the industry,” he said. A reciprocal agreement be- tween the two nations was an- nounced on Jan. 26. Paperwork and protocol to make it happen is just wrapping up. The Washington State De- partment of Agriculture cannot inspect any shipments for China until it receives USDA approval and importers still need to get per- mits, Scarlett said. Washington apple shippers have been working for years to gain full varietal access to Chi- na and China has been working for years to sell its Fuji apples in the U.S. Washington shippers dropped their opposition to Chi- nese access into the U.S. a few years ago in hopes it would open the door to selling more U.S. ap- ples to China. Red and Golden Delicious apples from Washington, Ore- gon and Idaho were allowed into China in 1993. They were banned from August 2012 to Oct. 31, 2014, after disease was found in some shipments. When shipments resumed Nov. 1, they were immediately hobbled by work slowdowns at U.S. ports. Nonetheless, close to 1 million 40-pound boxes of Washington Red Delicious have been shipped into China since then, Scarlett said. Red Delicious is the main variety left in abundance to be shipped this season. Shippers and the Washington Apple Commis- sion have said full access will be more helpful after this fall’s har- vest. Scarlett said he does not know when or where the Chinese are planning their first exports to the U.S. The combined China-Hong Kong market peaked at 3 million boxes in 2010-2011. The Apple Commission and other industry officials are hopeful China will become a major market of 10 mil- lion boxes annually in a few years. Dan Wheat/Capital Press Ninfa Duarte loads a tray of Red Delicious apples into a box for shipment at McDougall & Sons Inc., Wenatchee, Wash., on April 9. Almost 1 million boxes of Red Delicious have been shipped to China this season and other varieties are now being allowed. Calif. cherries wrap up light 5.7 million boxes expected in early season By DAN WHEAT Capital Press RICHLAND, Wash. — Cal- ifornia will wrap up its early cherry season about the end of May, dovetailing nicely with Washington’s crop and likely short of its estimate. That’s what Tate Mathison, sales director at Stemilt Growers Inc., Wenatchee, told growers at the Five State Cherry Commis- sion meeting in Richland, May 20. Mathison was just back from the company’s subsidiary in Stockton, Chinchiolo Stemilt California. “As of yesterday, Califor- nia was just under 3.5 million (18-pound) boxes and 260,000 were shipped yesterday which was a good shipping day,” he said. The California Cherry Ad- visory Board in Sacramento estimated the crop at 5.7 million boxes, down from an 8.5-mil- lion-box norm, due to lack of winter chill and too much heat during pollination. Harvest started April 11 near Bakersfield, beating the most recent early record of April 14, 2005. Harvest is now centered in Bings in the Stockton, Lodi and Delta areas. California quality is the best in years, said Rob Stewart, man- ager, Stadelman Fruit, Zillah, Wash. That helps Washington by setting a good experience with consumers, said Mike Tay- lor, Stemilt vice president of sales and marketing. Half the Bings were treated with a dormant breaking agent to push fruit early, Mathison said. “We may have five or six good shipping days left in the state,” he said. “I think they will pick short of the esti- mate. It will be a struggle to get to 5 million.” Dan Wheat/Capital Press Cherries are a ways out from harvest at Ruiz Orchard east of Sunnyside, Wash., on May 20. Cherries were riper in the Tri-Cities and Early crop gives NW cherry growers high hopes Record June sales Vineyard adds new dimension volume foreseen By DAN WHEAT to Iverson Family Farms Capital Press By JAN JACKSON For the Capital Press WOODBURN, Ore. — The Iverson family, well known producers of corn, grass seed, wheat, pump- kins, green beans and an annual tulip festival, are now growing grapes and selling wine. The wine from the six acres of grapes they plant- ed six years ago has been so well received they are converting another two to four acres next year. Ken Iverson, who is managing the vineyard, credits his son John with the idea. “The family has a pol- icy that for a grandchild to come back and be part of the farm he must gradu- ate from college and work for someone else for two years,” Ken said. “John did that, and after two years at Oregon Vineyard Supply, he is now the first third-generation mem- ber of the Iverson family team. It was his idea that we plant the grapes. The family talked it over, de- cided to take out some wheat and grass seed fields and here we are.” They chose the white Spanish grape Albarino, a Moscato table grape, a Pinot Noir and the hybrid French wine grape Mare- chal Foch. “We were thinking more about selling grapes when we started, but de- cided that since we al- ready had the infrastruc- ture and scheduled events, it would be a good idea to add our own wine,” Iver- son said. Laura Lacy, who also manages the family’s four-acre formal gardens (and is marrying into the family in June), is han- dling sales and marketing and the tasting room. “It has been exciting to see the whole enterprise so well-received,” Laura said. “It has been a labor of love. Together, Ken and I took as many classes as we could at Chemeketa’s Northwest Wine Studies Center in West Salem and together with his brother Nels, we are now putting the tasting room togeth- er.” To carry out the farm theme, Nels fashioned bar stools out of old tractor seats that sit up to a high- ly polished bar made from a beam he salvaged 25 years ago from an old building. “We held wine tast- ings in the tulip field on weekends during this year’s festival and the response and sales ex- ceeded our expectations. Our slightly pink spar- kling blush Moscato old out in a month and we won’t have more until next spring,” she said. “And we’ve also sold out of both the Pinot Noir and the Marechal Foch. Sean Driggers, from Pudding River Wine Cellars in Pra- tum, is coming up with a Marechal Foch Port for us and we have already pre- sold cases of that.” The newly designat- ed tasting room, which opened on Memorial Day Weekend, is located in the complex of buildings that also houses the Wood- en Shoe offices and gift shop. Next to the formal gardens, the picturesque setting will give wine tasters a view of the vine- yards, Mount Hood, tu- lips and daffodils in the spring. Iverson family princi- pal Barbara Iverson is en- thusiastic about the new venture. “It was time for us to do something new and the new wines have been a good choice,” she said. “And, there is lot more to be said for wine tast- ing events than those that feature wheat or grass seed.” The Wooden Shoe Vineyard tasting room is open Saturdays and Sun- days from noon to 5 p.m. March through December and families are welcome. For more information, visit www.woodenshoe. com RICHLAND, Wash. — With an early but lighter crop, Pacific Northwest cherry growers anticipate a second year of record June volume and excellent Fourth of July sales. The 2015 crop is estimat- ed at 19.7 million, 20-pound boxes by the Five State Cherry Commission that met at the Red Lion Han- ford House Hotel in Rich- land. The forecast is down 15 percent from a record 23.2 million boxes last year. The commission and Northwest Cherry Growers in Yakima represent cherry growers in Washington, Or- egon, Idaho, Montana and Utah. A rising gross domes- tic product, continuing low interest rates, no gasoline price spike and strong Eas- ter consumer spending all point toward good cherry sales this season, said B.J. Thurlby, Northwest Cherry Growers president. The region experienced the earliest bloom on re- cord. Harvest is expected to start about May 22 in the Tri-Cities and Mattawa. A record 10.1 million boxes were shipped last June, and shipments may hit 11 mil- lion this June. “An early crop usual- ly has good pricing pull through,” said West Mathi- son, president of Stemilt Growers Inc., Wenatchee, the nation’s largest sweet cherry producer. “It will be a big momen- tum crop. The month of June will be one for the re- cords but overall tonnage is down,” Mathison said. “It’s a blessing to be early,” said Mike Taylor, Stemilt’s vice president of sales and marketing. Mathison and oth- ers spoke of more “spurs and doubles,” defect fruit that will reduce packouts. There’s also been some ear- ly rain damage. “Last year, there wasn’t a whole lot of rain. That’s not normal and it’s unlike- ly to happen two years in a row,” said Doug Pauly, operations manager of Northern Fruit Co., East Wenatchee. Defects and the pros- pect of more rain and pick- er shortages led Wenatchee District growers to estimate their crop at 91,000 tons, down from 102,085 last year but up from the 89,308 ton three-year average. The Wenatchee District is ev- erything north of Interstate 90. The Yakima District, ev- erything south of Interstate 90, was estimated at 76,500 tons, down from 83,883 last year and up from the 70,200 three-year average. “Chelans overall are lighter across the state and the Bing crop also is less. Packouts will be lower be- cause of doubles and su- tures,” said Mark Roy, vice president of Roy Farms, Moxee. Washington makes up 85 percent of the PNW crop. Damage to cherry trees from last November’s freeze has taken a toll on the Oregon crop, said Me- gan Thompson, chairwom- an of the Oregon Sweet Cherry Commission. “We have trees that look good, trees that are dead and everything in between. Sweetheart and Regina probably took it the worst,” she said. Oregon growers estimat- ed their tonnage at 22,000 for The Dalles, down from 31,453 last year and down from a 27,833 three-year av- erage. Hood River is 5,500 tons, down from 7,564 and 6,345. Milton-Freewater is 450, down from 1,229 and 1,681. The Willamette Val- ley is steady at 100. Sally Symms, of Symms Fruit Ranch in Caldwell, Idaho, said she hasn’t seen any freeze damage and that fruit will come in the sec- ond week of June at a level similar to last year. Idaho is estimated at 1,100 tons, close to its three-year aver- age of 926. Montana is estimated at 700 tons and Utah at 200. 22-1/#4N