10 CapitalPress.com
October 28, 2016
Washington
Ranchers raise $14K Apples remain top Washington state crop
for Beef Counts
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Washington ranchers re-
cently raised $14,000 to pro-
vide beef for families in need.
The Grant County Cat-
tlemen donated a 550-pound
yearling steer during the Top-
penish Livestock Commis-
sion fall roundup sale Oct. 11.
Ranchers bid on the ani-
mal and donated it again, a
total of 28 times, said Bridget
Coon, director of digital strat-
egies for the Washington Beef
Commission.
The money goes to the
Beef Counts effort through
Second Harvest in Spokane
and Food Lifeline in Seattle.
The effort supplies meat year-
round to local food banks.
The food banks use the
money to order beef at a
wholesale price from the Agri
Beef Co. plant in Toppenish.
It in turn ships the meat to the
food banks, which give it to
those in need, Coon said.
Research shows that cus-
tomers feel good about prod-
ucts and brands that give back
to their community, Coon
said.
“This is something that
directly helps neighbors and
makes consumers feel good
about their beef purchases,”
she said.
The industry aims to raise
$100,000 for Beef Counts
this year. The Toppenish do-
nations put the effort within
$314 of that goal.
Coon expects to pass the
goal by the end of the year
with fundraisers in Kittitas
County.
The 1 millionth serving
under the program will be
served in Yakima the first
week of December.
Beef Counts and Second
Harvest will offer mobile
food banks that week in Ya-
kima, Toppenish and Ellens-
burg.
OLYMPIA — Agricultural
production in Washington state
set a record of $10.7 billion in
2015 with apples leading the
way for the 11th straight year,
according to the National Ag-
ricultural Statistics Service’s
Northwest regional office in
Olympia.
Total agricultural production
was up 5 percent from the pre-
vious high of $10.2 billion in
2014. Values excluded govern-
ment payments.
Much of the increase was
in apples, which gained 26.6
percent at $2.39 billion in 2015
up from $1.89 billion in 2014,
NASS said.
“It’s no accident the apple
industry continues to make such
a contribution to the state’s ag-
riculture. It leads the world in
innovation,” said Desmond
O’Rourke, retired Washington
State University agricultural
economist in Pullman.
Apple prices were strong
in the 2015-2016 sales season
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Red Delicious apples are packed at Valicoff Fruit Co., in Wapato,
Wash., on Oct. 12. Apples hit a new record farmgate value of $2.4
billion in Washington in 2015, making it the state’s top crop.
because the crop, while fourth
largest in history, was still small-
er than crops in 2014 and 2012.
Apples represented 22 per-
cent of the state’s total agricul-
tural value in 2015 compared
with 19 percent in 2014.
The industry has invested
heavily in superior new apple
varieties, new technology in
orchards, storage and packing
that “delivers outstanding prod-
uct 12 months a year,” O’Ro-
urke said.
Packing and marketing ini-
tiatives woo retailers and con-
sumers as the industry raises
the bar among world competi-
tors, he said.
Beyond apples the other
top four commodities listed by
NASS held the same positions
as in 2014.
Milk remained second at
$1.14 billion. However, this
was down 30 percent from
2014 and the lowest total since
2010. Cattle and calves, valued
at $858 million, were third, a
6.5 percent increase.
Potatoes increased slightly
to $772 million and remained
fourth. Wheat rounded out the
top five with a value of $600
million while down 16 percent.
All hay was sixth at $499
million, down 29 percent. All
cherries were seventh at $477
million, down 12 percent. Eggs
were eighth at $331 million,
up 87 percent. All grapes were
ninth at $296 million, down 1.7
percent.
Hops were 10th at $280 mil-
lion, up 34.4 percent.
Record high production val-
ues were set for apples, cattle
and calves, eggs and hops while
milk, wheat, hay, cherries and
grapes all declined.
Generally,
Washington
agriculture is “very healthy,”
O’Rourke said, particularly
on the crop side because of
natural advantages in soil, cli-
mate and irrigation.
Tree fruit trade groups’
merger effort slows
By DAN WHEAT
44-4/#7
Capital Press
ELLENSBURG, Wash. —
Efforts have slowed to com-
bine two trade organizations
that handle foreign market is-
sues for the Washington tree
fruit industry.
The Northwest Horticul-
tural Council and Northwest
Fruit Exporters, both in Ya-
kima, have been considering
closer operations for two
years.
“I’d hoped to report we
are well on our way, but we
hit a roadblock over the sum-
mer,” Chris Schlect, presi-
dent of NHC, reported at a
Washington Apple Commis-
sion meeting in Ellensburg,
Oct. 20.
The plan is for NFE to
come “under the umbrella” of
NHC, but keep its own reve-
nue stream, Schlect said.
NHC is ready to make it
happen but Mike Saunders,
chairman of the NFE board,
has concerns, Schlect said,
adding he had hoped to have
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the effort finished before he
retires at the end of March.
Later, Schlect said the in-
tent is better coordination of
NFE and NHC and having a
clearer voice at the federal
level. He said having NFE
remain a separate legal entity
with its own board contract-
ing with NHC for manage-
ment would maintain NFE’s
trade certificate allowing
shippers to share export in-
formation.
Contacted later, Saunders,
co-owner of Apple King in
Yakima, said he personally
sees no advantage to joining,
that NFE and NHC already
coordinate well and that fed-
eral agencies know, or can
figure out, which one to con-
tact.
NFE has attorneys check-
ing to make sure it can keep
its trade certificate if it is
managed by NHC, which is
involved in lobbying, Saun-
ders said.
The U.S. Justice Depart-
ment is concerned about or-
ganizations setting prices on
product for domestic con-
sumption, but NFE doesn’t
do that, Schlect said.
The trade certificate al-
lows two or more shippers
to give NFE information on
timing and volumes of ship-
ment of cherries to Japan so
that NFE can coordinate ef-
ficient Japanese inspections
for the benefit of all, Schlect
said. The shippers don’t nec-
essarily know what each oth-
er is doing, he said.
Another reason for sepa-
ration is that NHC and NFE
are funded differently, Saun-
ders said. NHC is funded by
donations from groups such
as the Apple Commission,
while NFE receives grower
assessments, he said.
“Basically, we’ve been
asked to look into this and
we are,” Saunders said.
“We need to make sure
our board and whole mem-
bership are up to speed on
this.”
NHC was incorporated
in 1947 to assist in handling
problems common in the
Northwest tree fruit industry.
It focuses on national and in-
ternational policy issues im-
pacting growers and shippers
in Washington, Oregon and
Idaho.
NFE was established as a
nonprofit corporation in 1985
to manage export market
preparation procedures for
fresh sweet cherries bound
for Japan. In 1992, its role
was expanded to include the
export of apples to Mexico,
China and Japan.
In March 2014, at the
initiative of the Apple Com-
mission, apple market access
regarding China, Japan, Viet-
nam, India, Australia, South
Africa, Egypt and Israel
were switched from NFE to
NHC.
NFE continued handling
apple market access to Mex-
ico and protocols or work
plans for export of apples to
foreign countries.