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June 22, 2018 CapitalPress.com 3 Washington cherry harvest off to good start By DAN WHEAT China tariffs worry cherry marketers, growers Capital Press ORONDO, Wash. — Cherry harvest is off to a de- cent start in Central Washing- ton with good quality, strong early prices and apparently not too big a labor shortage. “Fruit quality is outstand- ing. We really have some outstanding sugar in our fruit this year,” said B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cher- ry Growers in Yakima, the in- dustry’s promotional arm. Demand was out-pac- ing supply with 3 million, 20-pound boxes shipped as of June 19 and South Korea as the single biggest market av- eraging almost 40,000 boxes per day, Thurlby said. That same morning in Orondo, 16 miles north of Wenatchee, a small army of 105 young H-2A-visa guest- workers, just a week on the job from Mexico, picked Orondo Ruby cherries at Griggs Orchards. “We’ve increased our H-2A by 50 percent from last year, but we’ve had a lot of domestics stopping by, which is nice, and we’ve been hir- ing them,” said John Griggs, co-owner. Labor has been tight for years industry-wide, but Griggs said California’s cher- ry crop, always earlier than Washington’s and Oregon’s, was light this year, which freed up pickers to move north sooner this year. He said he had 87 domestic pickers Dan Wheat/Capital Press A wagon load of Orondo Ruby cherries during morning break at Griggs Orchard near Orondo, Wash., June 19. The cherries are sorted and packed by Chelan Fruit Co. and sold by Chelan Fresh Marketing. and could use 30 more. He was a week into full harvest with three to four to go. California was still ship- ping a few boxes on June 19 and will finish just shy of 4 million, 18-pound box- es, Thurlby said. The Pacific Northwest, with Washington the bulk of it, expects to pick 20.4 million, 20-pound boxes into August, down 22.7 per- cent from last year’s record 26.4-million-box crop. Tom Riggan, general manager of Chelan Fresh Marketing, said wholesale prices started in the $80- to $90-per-box range with lim- ited volume in the first two weeks of June. As of June 19, prices were around $55 to $70 per box, depending on fruit size. Cherries were selling at $4.99 and $7.99 per pound in Scenic designation for Nehalem River raises concerns Area in detail Astoria ORE. 30 101 202 R a le 26 Ne h 53 Manzanita Pacific Ocean Oregon parks officials believe a portion of the Ne- halem river qualifies as “scenic,” but potential re- strictions have met with consternation from agricul- ture and local government representatives. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has completed a study conclud- ing that 17.5 miles of the Nehalem river meets the cri- teria for scenic designation, such as free-flowing water, outstanding views and recre- ational opportunities. The report was submitted on June 13 to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Com- mission, which oversees the agency and plans to vote on a “scenic” recommendation as early as November. Restrictions meant to protect the natural features of scenic waterways can be problematic for landowners, particularly the requirement they notify OPRD at least one year before making cer- tain changes to their property within a quarter-mile of the river. During that time, the land- owner can negotiate with the agency over possible alter- native plans or a sale of the property. In the forested areas sur- rounding the Nehalem River, the primary concern would be delayed timber harvest- ing, which is already regu- lated under the Oregon For- est Practices Act, said Mary Anne Cooper, public policy counsel for the Oregon Farm Bureau. “It’s a complicated struc- ture that’s on top of anything else,” she said. Changes to roads or farm buildings may also be hin- dered by the requirement, Cooper said. Though the rules for sce- nic rivers do make allowanc- es for agriculture, the con- struction or modification of a structure — such as a pump- r Cannon Beach By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press iv e CLATSOP m Certain changes to landscape within quarter-mile subject to one-year delay 6 Proposed scenic river segment Tillamook 101 TILLAMOOK N Capital Press graphic house — must be compatible with the surrounding aesthet- ics, she said. Whether or not a design is visually obtrusive is a highly subjective question that could prove problem- atic for landowners, she said. The scenic designation is also meant to protect river flows, potentially interfer- ing with the development or transfer of new water rights, Cooper said. The protections may have implications for water quali- ty, which is already regulated under other laws for agricul- ture and forestry. The Farm Bureau is also skeptical whether the 17.5 mile stretch actually meets the criteria for a scenic des- ignation, since the landscape has long been managed, she said. “There are homes and roads throughout the area, so it’s not really undisturbed,” she said. Tilamook County’s Board of Commissioners has also come out against the scenic designation, arguing that re- strictions on logging will vi- olate the state government’s duty to generate revenues from property donated by the county. “Although we support public uses on the Nehalem River ... we cannot support the proposed designation as it fails to take into account the primacy of timber pro- duction on properties which the County deeded to the State decades ago,” accord- ing to a letter sent by the board. Wenatchee grocery stores. Marketers will quickly ad- just prices downward to help retailers make Fourth of July sales prices as volume sub- stantially increases, Riggan said. “Demand is there and quality is phenomenal. Size profile is better than last year and sugars are very high, so it’s setting up so far so good. When quality is there, it flies off the shelves,” Riggan said. Helicopters were busy in the greater Wenatchee area June 15 and 16 blowing off cherries from rain. Griggs said he had two helicopters fly once over his orchards in Orondo and three to four times over his orchards far- ther north near Beebe Bridge, east of Chelan. “We’ve come through re- YAKIMA, Wash. — Washington cherry marketers and growers are concerned about the escalating trade war be- tween the U.S. and China. In retaliation to Trump administration tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, China imposed tariffs on many U.S. goods including 15 percent on cherries, which was on top an existing 10 percent entry tax and 13 percent value added tax. “Cherries are on the list to receive another 25 percent tariff to retaliate against the latest U.S. tariffs,” said B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers and the Washington State Fruit Commission in Yakima. “It’s a tragic shame that our growers are being thrown un- der the bus four times over. Obviously we are taking a huge hit in this trade war,” Thurlby said. However, one marketer said short-term pain will be worth it if it results in fairer trade in the long-term. The industry expects South Korea and the U.S. to absorb more cherries, Thurlby said. “Unfortunately, we have our promotional funding on the table in China and trying to guess what will happen tomor- row makes it tough to move our funding out of China and into other markets,” Thurlby said. “It’s safe to say we expect volume to be down in China this year.” The Pacific Northwest shipped 3.2 million, 20-pound boxes of cherries to China in 2017, valued at approximately $127 million. It was 13 percent of the crop. Tom Riggan, general manager of Chelan Fresh Marketing in Chelan, said China is a good market but that he’s being very conservative about how much fruit he ships there now. “Fruit has been detained. If they find any decay, they’re holding cherries for up to seven days to test it. If that contin- ues there will be a serious reduction. We’re being very con- servative. It’s a day-by-day deal,” Riggan said. He said he hopes that, like before, a resolution is negotiat- ed soon so the entire season to China is not damaged. — Dan Wheat ally well. I haven’t seen any splits so far. I think it’s be- cause it stayed cool and the rain was not very long in du- ration,” Griggs said. Longer rain followed by hot weather swells and splits cherries, ruining them for market. Thurlby said he was hear- ing more concern about wind than rain from growers throughout Central Washing- ton. Norm Gutzwiler, a Malaga grower south of Wenatchee, was preparing to start pick- ing June 21 and he was hav- ing no trouble finding pickers because of those coming up from California. Charles Lyall, a Mattawa grower, called labor “pretty decent with a few shortages.” He said he was able to pick most of his early varieties and Bing on time, struggled to get and keep pickers and had 130 domestics at his peak. He said he paid them 23 to 28 cents per pound. Griggs said he’s paying his H-2A and domes- tic pickers 33 cents per pound. Lyall said while his ear- ly Chelans and Tietons were light at just 2.75 tons per acre, size was good 9- and 8-row and sold to Malaysia and Chi- na at $85 per box. “It was good, but not a home run. It will pay the bills. It was gorgeous fruit. I wished I’d had a bit more tonnage,” Lyall said. He was finishing Bing har- vest at a “sweet spot” of 6 tons per acre and in the $22 to $24 per box range on 11-row, a smaller size. Lyall started harvest on June 3, just a day or two behind his neighbor, John Doebler, who was first in the Northwest. Say ‘Cheese:’ Tillamook opens its new visitor center By GAIL OBERST For the Capital Press TILLAMOOK, Ore. — Members of one of the North- west’s largest dairy coopera- tives, the Tillamook County Creamery Association, cut the ribbon to their new visi- tor center June 19 with fan- fare that included politicians, employees and dairy farmers. Eight-year-old Juliana McCoy traded in a day at camp for a visit to the grand opening with her mom that included a picture with Or- egon Gov. Kate Brown. Her visit was sweetened with one of Tillamook’s famous ice cream cones, and in the visitor center’s Farm Room, Juliana tried to beat the av- erage 21 seconds it takes a professional to prep a cow for milking. “It was worth it,” Juliana declared. Those activities, and more, are now open to the estimated 1.3 million visitors expected to walk through the doors of the new facility, bet- ter known as the Tillamook Cheese factory. With $778 million in gross revenues last year, the Tilla- mook County Creamery As- sociation is the largest co-op in Oregon, employing nearly 900 people. Its approximate- ly 90 farm families — most- ly from the Tillamook area — own the cooperative and provide milk for the cheese, ice cream, yogurt and other products. At the ribbon-cutting, Brown tossed out a question to the audience: “What’s the state drink?” Gail Oberst/For the Capital Press Gov. Kate Brown joins Tillamook officials, member-farmers and guests in cutting the ribbon during the grand opening of the cooperative’s new visitor center Tuesday in Tillamook, Ore. Gail Oberst/For the Capital Press Among the many attractions inside Tillamook’s new visitor center are informational displays and an observation area where guests can watch how the co-op’s cheese is made. The front row of dairy farmers had the answer: “Milk!” State Sen. Arnie Roblan praised dairy farmers for their commitment to the cooperative that has en- dured for more than 100 years. He jokingly suggest- ed that the name of the new 38,500-square-foot center should be called “Are we there yet?” for the backseat questions excited children have asked on their way to Tillamook since the original center opened in 1949. As demand grew, the creamery’s board has ex- panded, remodeled and re- built the visitor center. It is one of the Northwest’s big- gest attractions, rivaling Se- attle’s Space Needle in the number of visitors it draws, according to association CEO Patrick Criteser. The new building opened to the public June 20, and is open each day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Labor Day, then 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through mid-June. Inside the new building, visitors are greeted by pic- tures and displays of the Tillamook dairy’s history, which began when local farmers shipped their dairy products on the Morningstar, a two-masted ship built by residents to transport goods to Portland. The ship’s im- age adorns packages of Til- lamook cheese and other products. A staircase at the entry- way leads to a long hallway divided into farm education rooms, a viewing gallery overlooking the cheese pro- duction facility and the popu- lar cheese-tasting room. Downstairs are roomy food halls and a marketplace. Visitors can order from three stations that feature yogurts, pastries, ice cream or cheesy meals and snack selections that can be eaten in the caf- eteria or on an outside patio. In the marketplace, vis- itors can take home cheese and other Tillamook products along with a wide variety of memorabilia. Weekly fieldwork report Ore. Item/description (Source: USDA, NASS; NOAA) • Days suitable for fieldwork (As of June 17) 6.7 • Topsoil moisture, surplus 1% • Topsoil moisture, percent short 63% • Subsoil moisture, surplus 0 • Subsoil moisture, percent short 60% • Precipitation probability 33-40% below (6-10 day outlook as of June 19) Wash. Idaho Calif. 6.2 3% 22% 3% 17% 5.9 14% 35% 12% 35% 7 0 75% 0 70% Normal/ 40% below 40% below Normal
