January 29, 2016
CapitalPress.com
5
500 FFA blue jackets converge on Idaho Capitol
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Pear crop shrinks
but sells well
By DAN WHEAT
There was a discussion
about more high-density
plantings in the Wenatchee
WENATCHEE,
Wash. Valley. Rudy Prey, a Leav-
² 7KH 3DFL¿F 1RUWK- enworth grower, said he be-
west pear crop is selling at gan high-density 15 years
a decent pace and prices are ago. He said start-up costs
good but the crop is shrinking are significant at $20,000 to
because of too much cork, a $25,000 per acre but that ef-
decay brought on by calci- ficiencies increase. Pruning
XPGH¿FLHQF\FDXVHGE\WRR costs are 50 percent less and
much heat early in the grow- slightly more fruit is pro-
ing season.
duced. Shorter trees mean
Cork is most prevalent in using 8-foot instead of 12-
d’Anjou pears grown in the foot ladders, which workers
Wenatchee Valley, the top like, he said.
pear region in the nation. It is
culled out, shrinking the crop
as fruit is pulled from storage
and packed for shipment.
Because of it the crop is
now estimated at 18.6 mil-
lion, 44-pound boxes, down
from estimates of 19.9 mil-
lion on Aug. 18 and 20.4 mil-
lion on May 28, says Kevin
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Bureau Northwest of Port-
land. The crop undoubtedly
will shrink more, he said,
keeping prices strong, which
coupled with the strong dol-
lar, is hindering exports.
“The domestic is keeping
up the slack, so all is good,”
he said.
The average wholesale
asking price of nearly sold
out U.S. No. 1 grade Bart-
lett, size 80, in the Yakima
and Wenatchee districts was
$36 to $38.90 per box on
Jan. 20, according to USDA
Market News. It was $26 to
$30.90 for No. 1 d’Anjou of
the same size. A year ago,
d’Anjou were $22 to $26 and
Bartlett was sold out.
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ates talked to growers about
pear promotions at the an-
nual Northcentral Washing-
ton Pear Day at Wenatchee
Convention Center, Jan. 20.
The event is sponsored by the
Pear Bureau and Washington
State University Extension.
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Capital Press movement is
good at 61 percent of the
crop sold as of Jan. 15 com-
pared to 60 percent a year
ago.
Exports are down 20 per-
cent because of the strong
dollar and smaller crop, he
said. Exports to China are
down 36 percent at 103,000
boxes versus 161,000 a year
ago at this time. China like-
ly will finish the season at
around 146,000 to 160,000
boxes, he said, down from
227,900 for 2014 and
185,000 in 2013. It opened
as a market in February
2013.
The top export markets,
Mexico and Canada, are
down 15.7 percent and 14
percent, respectively, Mof-
fitt said. They won’t fall as
much as other export mar-
kets because of proximity
to the U.S. and because they
are stable, historic markets,
he said.
Imports are a concern this
season but not as much as
they could be, Moffitt said.
Imports will arrive mid-Feb-
ruary through June, attracted
by good U.S. retail pricing
but hindered by small fruit
size, he said. Because size is
small, imports probably will
be kept down to 3.2 million
boxes total for the season
compared to 3 million last
year, he said. Sixty percent
of imported pears come from
Argentina, 30 percent from
Chile and 10 percent from
New Zealand and South Af-
rica.
Pear Day talks included
pear psylla and integrated
pest management, irrigation
and pruning.
Capital Press
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Sen. Jim Guthrie, a Republican rancher from McCammon, talks
with a member of the American Falls FFA chapter Jan. 25 during
the Cenarrusa Day on the Hill event. More than 500 FFA members
from across Idaho attended the annual event, which kicked off a
two-day leadership conference.
Director Clara-Leigh Evans
said the two-day event, which
includes a leadership confer-
ence, is a great way to help
shape the state’s future leaders.
“In the blue jackets, you’re
looking at the people that
eventually will be wearing
(suits) in our Capitol in the
future and be the movers and
shakers of Idaho,” she said.
“This is a really, really special
event and it’s an exciting op-
portunity for them.”
FFA member Robi Salis-
bury, president of the New
Plymouth chapter, said that
FFA students truly are the fu-
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Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Too much early summer heat led to cork on pears, dimples that
turn to rot. These pears in the Wenatchee Valley showed it at
harvest in September. Such fruit was discarded in the orchards and
packing sheds.
BOISE — More than 500
FFA students from across
Idaho converged on Boise
Jan. 25 for a two-day event
that allows them to visit with
legislators and sharpen their
leadership skills.
Idaho lawmakers were
surrounded by a sea of blue
jackets during the Cenarrusa
Day on the Hill luncheon, the
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event.
The FFA students spent
the morning visiting with
lawmakers and industry lead-
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hand how Idaho government
works.
Agriculture is “a great
place to be and a great place
to raise a family. It’s an hon-
or for me to be here and see
all the blue coats today,” said
Jack Ingram, president of the
Idaho Cooperative Council,
which represents agricultural
cooperatives and co-sponsors
the event.
Idaho State FFA Executive
ture leaders of Idaho “and I
feel it’s really important to get
us out there and hear about the
important issues that (legisla-
tors) are dealing with.”
Lt. Gov. Brad Little, a
rancher, proclaimed Jan. 20-
27 as FFA week in Idaho and
noted that 65 percent of the
state’s general fund revenue is
dedicated to education.
“There’s no better way to
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that investment) than to come
to Cenarrusa Day on the Hill,”
he said.
During the luncheon, In-
gram presented Sen. Jim Rice,
R-Caldwell, and Rep. Caroline
Troy, R-Genesee, with ICC
friends of the industry awards.
Rice, chairman of the Sen-
ate Agricultural Affairs Com-
mittee, noted that “modern ag-
riculture feeds ... more people
per farmer than at any time in
history.”
“I think the world is in good
hands when I look out here and
see all the blue jackets,” said
Troy, who Ingram described
as “a farm girl through and
through.”
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