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CapitalPress.com
January 13, 2017
Apple prices could be near bottom
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
WENATCHEE, Wash. —
Washington’s second-largest
apple crop shrank slightly in
the past month as sales con-
tinue at a good pace and prices
hover at or near a season bot-
tom.
As of Jan. 1, the crop is
137.1 million, 40-pound boxes
compared to 137.9 million on
Dec. 1, an ordinary and neg-
ligible decline due to slightly
fewer packouts than expected.
Season-to-date shipments
as of Jan. 1 totaled 48.7 million
boxes, according to the latest
industry report, compared to
43.7 million the same time a
year ago with a smaller crop
LEGAL
PUBLIC NOTICE
The
Soil
and
Water
Conservation
Commission
(SWCC) will hold its regular
quarterly
meeting
on
Wednesday, February 8, 2017,
from noon to 4:30 p.m. The
meeting will be held at the
NRCS State Office, 1201 NE
Lloyd Blvd, Portland, OR 97232.
The meeting agenda covers
SWCC reports, advisor reports,
Soil and Water Conservation
District programs and funding,
Agriculture
Water
Quality
Management Program updates,
and other agenda items.
The Oregon Department of
Agriculture complies with the
Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). If you need special
accommodations to participate
in this meeting, please contact
Sandi Hiatt at (503) 986-4704, at
least 72 hours prior to the
meeting.
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Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Lucelia Garcia grabs a bag of Fuji apples to place in a shipment
box at Roche Fruit in Yakima, Wash., on Nov. 16. Sales of the
state’s second largest apple crop remain at a good pace while
prices have softened.
and 51.9 million with the in-
dustry’s record crop two years
ago.
The big percentage swing
in movement is with Hon-
eycrisp at almost 4.5 million
shipped so far versus 3.8 mil-
lion a year ago, said Desmond
LEGAL
CHERRY AVENUE STORAGE
2680 Cherry Ave. NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 399-7454
Sat., Jan 28th • 10 A.M.
• Unit 4 - Bryan VanDyke
• Unit 23 - Adam Wyeske
• Unit 52 -
Angela & Shayne Barton
• Unit 64 - Kristen McDonnell
• Unit 70 - Linda Ballard
• Unit 85 - Angela Kinzel
• Unit 159 - Tracy Bean
• Unit 166 - Stephen Shuck
• Unit 179 - John Codner
Cherry Avenue Storage
reserves the right to refuse
any and all bids
O’Rourke, a consultant and
retired Washington State Uni-
versity agriculture economics
professor.
The all other category of
mostly new, proprietary vari-
eties was up about one-third
from 2.6 million to 3.5 million,
still small but rapid in growth
because of good dollar returns,
O’Rourke said.
USDA’s tracking of av-
erage asking prices of extra
fancy grade medium size (80
to 88 per 40-pound box) in
Wenatchee and Yakima re-
mained unchanged on Jan. 9
from Dec. 13. That could indi-
cate a leveling or bottoming of
prices.
However, there are 32
percent more Gala in storage
nationwide as of Jan. 1 com-
pared to a year earlier, 29 per-
cent more Red Delicious, 21
percent more Honeycrisp and
18 percent more Cripps Pink,
according to a U.S. Apple As-
sociation report. Total national
holdings are at 103.2 million
boxes, up 14 percent from a
year ago and 11 percent from
the five-year average.
All of that tends to create
downward price pressure.
“Prices could go either way
in the next few weeks. De-
mand is fairly strong and sup-
ply not too big, so I think the
market is pretty balanced right
now,” O’Rourke said.
Red Delicious has dropped
to $15 per box and Gala is at
$20.52 at which both are los-
ing growers money, he said.
“Prices will be depressed a
bit but still are generating very
substantial returns, particularly
compared to two years ago,”
O’Rourke said.
The eight main varieties are
averaging a little over $19 per
box and proprietary varieties at
about $43, he said.
“That’s a huge gap and
the incentive to plant more of
newer varieties must be very
strong,” he said.
The USDA Jan. 9 track-
ing of prices: Red Delicious,
$16 to $18.90; Gala, $19 to
$22.90; Golden Delicious,
$21 to $24.90; Fuji, $25 to
$28.90; Granny Smith, $19 to
$23.90; and Honeycrisp, $55
to $62.90.
Efficient producers of Gala
are probably breaking even,
but about one-third of growers
make money under these con-
ditions, a third break even and
a third lose money, O’Rourke
said.
legal-2-2-1/#4
NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION PROGRAM
First GMO apple slices
to go on sale in Midwest
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
SUMMERLAND,
B.C.
— The first genetically mod-
ified apples to be sold in the
U.S. will debut in select Mid-
western stores next month.
A small amount of Arc-
tic brand sliced and packaged
Golden Delicious, produced
by Okanagan Specialty Fruits
of Summerland, B.C., will be
in 10 stores this February and
March, said Neal Carter, the
company’s founder and pres-
ident. He would not identify
the retailers, saying that’s up to
them.
“We’re very optimistic with
respect to this product because
people love it at trade shows,”
Carter said. “It’s a great prod-
uct and the eating quality is
excellent.”
The company modified the
apples to reduce the enzyme
polyphenol oxidase to pre-
vent browning when apples
are sliced or bitten. The apples
match the industry norm of
not browning for three weeks
after slicing but without using
flavor-altering, chemical addi-
tives that the rest of the fresh-
sliced apple industry uses.
Golden Delicious, Granny
Smith and Fuji varieties have
been approved by the USDA
and Canada. An Arctic Gala
could be approved in 2018.
Only Goldens and Granny
Smiths have been planted long
enough to produce fruit in
commercial quantities by next
fall.
Midwestern retailers were
chosen for the first sales this
winter because they seemed
like a good fit demographi-
cally and in presence and size,
Carter said.
Asked if Midwest consum-
ers may be more accepting of
The
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NWAg17-4/#13
genetically modified apples
than those on the East or West
coasts, Carter said consumer
research didn’t indicate that
and that it wasn’t a consider-
ation.
“We don’t want to skew
our test marketing results by
choosing stores that may be
more friendly to genetic engi-
neering,” he said.
About 500, 40-pound box-
es of sliced apples will be sold
in grab-and-go pouch bags, he
said. The company expects to
offer 6,000 boxes of apple slic-
es from the 2017 fall crop.
A QR computer scan code
on the packaging enables con-
sumers to get information,
including that the apple slices
are genetically modified, but
nothing directly on the packing
identifies it. Okanagan Special-
ty Fruits will adhere to the new
genetically engineered foods
labeling act but it’s not clear
what that requires, Carter said.
“We are selling it under the
Arctic brand and we’ve had a
lot of press and attention, so I
assume most people will know
what it is,” he said.
The company has reworked
its logo, making a snowflake
inside an apple outline more
visible.
The first commercial test
marketing will provide the
company with consumer pref-
erences on packaging and price
and other information includ-
ing purchase motivations. Sur-
vey data will be used to help the
company decide its fall 2017
commercial launch strategy.
The company has orchards
in British Columbia and 85,000
trees at an undisclosed location
in Washington state. More than
300,000 trees will be planted
this spring and 500,000 are
being budded for planting in
2018.
LEGAL
Request for Proposal (RFP)
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
FEASIBILITY STUDY
Si View Metropolitan Park District seeks proposals for
consulting services to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate
agricultural and natural resource assets at Tollgate Farm,
located in North Bend Washington, and to assess how those
assets could support alternative scenarios for the
redevelopment of the property in a manner that benefits
community recreation, local farmers, strengthens the local
food system, and increases the local community’s awareness
of and engagement with local agriculture. Additionally
include the potential opportunities for an agricultural or
livestock incubator located on the property, and/or other
roles for the property to play in local economic development
with particular focus on and around agriculture.
For a complete proposal description go to
www.siviewpark.org/contracting-process.html.
Proposals are due no later than 12:00 Noon on Friday,
January 27th, 2017. Questions regarding the proposal should
be directed to Executive Director, Travis Stombaugh, 425-831-
1900 tstombaugh@siviewpark.org.
legal-2-2-4/#T3D
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• No underground utilities, including oil and gas lines, within the
proposed solar site.
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