Washington

Northwest Cherry Growers Forecast High Quality and Early Volumes

Fri, 15 May 2026 21:37:47 GMT

Washington State Fruit Commission President Eric Patrick says that there’s no clearer sign to the start of summer than when it’s Northwest cherry season. Being that cherries are such a limited-run item in stores, he says consumers say, “Wow! Summer’s here, I need to get these cherries.”

While California’s cherry season looks to wrap up early, it’s going to be a good handoff to the Northwest cherry season, which looks to be starting a little ahead of schedule, but not by too much.

While it’s early and marketers say things could change, the season currently appears to have set up good promotable volume for the entire season.

“Recent rain events in California have continued to reduce the crop, and we’re now expecting their season to wrap earlier than originally projected,” says Catherine Gipe-Stewart, director of marketing for Superfresh Growers. “We stay closely aligned with our retail partners and monitor movement out of California in real time, which allows us to adjust timing and promotions as needed to ensure a smooth transition.”

Gipe-Stewart says the season wrapping up early in the state should help create a seamless transition and start to the Northwest season.

“That timing is lining up well with the earlier finish in California, which should help minimize overlap and create a clean handoff at retail,” she says.

Northwest Cherry Crop Estimate and Season Outlook

Jon Bailey, who leads the cherry category for Oppy, says early frosts impacted early orchards and late frost impacted later orchards, but “the midseason districts look very strong, so we expect our best continuity and overall quality through the center of the season and project to match last year’s volume.”

Gipe-Stewart says while early projections could evolve as the crop develops, she says retailers can expect “an early, high-quality Northwest cherry crop, with timing, volume and sizing still taking shape.”

“We’re continuing to monitor weather and growing conditions closely, as those will ultimately influence final yield and packouts,” she adds.

Chuck Sinks, president of sales and marketing for Honeybear Brands, says while this spring has created some variability, fruit quality is trending in the right direction for firmness, sugar and overall eating experience.

“We expect volume to build in waves rather than all at once,” he says.

Patrick says harvest could come between three and seven days early, adding that he expects some growers will begin harvest around Memorial Day with good volumes picking up around June 10. Patrick says that 30% of this year’s crop is destined for the export market.

“We’re putting that crop estimate somewhere in the 18 [million] to 20 million boxes,” he says. “A nice average size crop for us.”

Mac Riggan, vice president of sales and business development for Chelan Fresh, says while there’s a bit of growing to go until harvest, things are aligning well.

“If things are fairly normal, I’m expecting a lot of really good-sized fruit for export and domestic markets,” Riggan says. “I think the eating quality is going to be really good out of Washington.”

While volume comes off at one time in some seasons, Riggan says this season will be more in line with weekly demand, which is perfect for retailers and consumers alike. Barring any major changes, he says, the season will begin in late May and run through the end of August.

“That’s a 90-plus-day sales window, which is really nice. I think that the pipeline will be full of fresh cherries all the time, just picked, packed and shipped,” he says. “I’m expecting a very orderly sales season out of the Washington cherry industry this year, which is good for everybody — the shippers, the retailers, the consumers. It’s just a win-win all around.”

Having the cherry season wrap up early in California should help create a seamless transition and start to the Northwest season, says Catherine Gipe-Stewart, director of marketing for Superfresh Growers.

(Photo courtesy of Superfresh Growers)

Retail Merchandising Strategies and Consumer Value

If some of the crop tends to skew on the larger size, that’s a strong storytelling advantage for retailers, Sinks says.

“Size equals value in the shopper’s mind; it’s visible, experiential and justifies the price,” he explains. “Position cherries as a seasonal indulgence: a limited-time, peak-summer treat that delivers quality enjoyment at home. Messaging like ‘big, bold and worth it’ or ‘summer’s premium bite’ resonates well.”

Retailers can also deploy strong visuals and callouts to help consumers understand the value of those larger cherries, in that they’re trading up in experience, not just paying more, Sinks says.

“Ultimately, the retail community wants to win the price point, and that can be achieved with a smaller size at high value too,” he says. “With Washington supply potentially tighter, smaller cherries might signal good value to a consumer.”

Though the season will likely start a little early, Riggan says it’s important that retailers have good communication with a sales desk.

“Make sure you’re getting accurate information. Good news or bad news, just make sure it’s accurate so that you can plan,” he says. “I’m anticipating good volume for promotable volumes for Fourth of July ads this year. It should be good for retailers.”

Patrick says with the crop expected this year, it’s critical that retailers think promotions and even look to back-to-back ads and promotions during the heart of the season to drive sales. He also says studies show larger displays for cherries help drive sales.

“Cherries obviously have a longer shelf life when you put them in the cooler, but then they’re a little more hidden,” he says. “When you put them front and center and allow consumers to see them, those sales usually go up.”

(Photo courtesy of Stemilt Growers)

Driving Sales Through Health Benefits and Impulse Purchases

Gipe-Stewart says the team at Superfresh Growers looked to prune for sizing, which she says means retailers can expect a strong Super Cherry premium program.

“From a retail perspective, this creates an opportunity to segment and merchandise strategically,” she says. “Larger fruit can be positioned as a true premium, an ‘affordable luxury’ moment for consumers, through strong display, clear sizing communication and elevated presentation. At the same time, smaller sizes still deliver on flavor and eating experience and can be leveraged for value-driven promotions to keep cherries accessible and drive volume.”

Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt Growers, says the impulse factor isn’t limited to the physical aisle.

“Shoppers need to know they are in season through visibility, whether they are shopping in-store through a front-of-department display or online via featured items,” she says. “Ultimately, quality and the eating experience drive repeat purchases.”

Bailey, too, says those larger cherries help drive the “wow” factor at the store and can help retailers “position cherries as a special, treat-yourself item that still feels justified, even when budgets are tight.”

While smaller pack sizes might help consumers manage out-of-pocket costs, “they’re also more expensive to pack and typically require significantly higher unit movement to drive meaningful volume,” he says.

With shoppers making fewer trips, Bailey says it’s a good opportunity for retailers to lean into larger purchases per trip with bigger packs and “strong displays that encourage shoppers to stock up when they do visit.”

And with the expected steady volume throughout the season, Riggan says it’s important that retailers use displays to help drive sales.

“You want to have a good display where customers are hit with it, because cherries are a very impulse item,” he says. “They’re not year-round like so many other items. Give cherries the space and the respect that I think they command because of the dollars that they can generate for retailers.”

While consumers might be a little more budget-conscious going into this year’s cherry season, Gipe-Stewart says retailers should work with growers and shippers on promotional fob opportunities.

“That helps maintain category momentum, supports movement across all size profiles and ultimately benefits the full supply chain, including growers who are often operating at or below cost in challenging seasons,” she says. “When retailers strike the balance between positioning the top end while still creating value entry points, it keeps cherries relevant, exciting and attainable for a broad range of shoppers.”

Gipe-Stewart also says health messaging can help drive sales as consumers look to better-for-you options.

“Cherries deliver about 3 grams of fiber per 1-cup serving, including both insoluble fiber, which supports digestion and gut movement, and soluble fiber, which can help with cholesterol and blood sugar regulation,” she says. “Cherries are also one of the few foods that naturally contain melatonin, which supports sleep. Those are powerful, easy-to-understand benefits that give retailers a strong foundation for messaging in-store and digitally.”

Patrick also points to a recent study out of Texas A&M University that shows anthocyanins and other natural compounds in dark sweet cherries could reduce tumor growth, metastasis and therapy resistance in triple-negative breast cancer.

“We’re just seeing more and more consumers trying to step away from processed foods, and of course, fresh produce is one of the first places they go to, and we want everyone to focus on cherries as much as much as they can,” he says.

This blend of wellness and convenient pack sizes provides a unique opening for stores to market cherries as a multifunctional staple rather than just a seasonal treat, Gipe-Stewart says.

“When retailers combine clear health messaging with thoughtful pack size strategy, it allows cherries to function as both an everyday wellness item and an affordable indulgence, driving both accessibility and overall category growth.”

Sinks also suggests retailers approach displays with select items to drive sales.

“Retailers should pair cherries with complementary, high-frequency items — berries, yogurt, bagged salads, grilling items — to build a full summer meal or snacking occasion,” he says.

Sinks encourages retailers to use urgency as a strength, as cherries are one of the most time-sensitive produce categories.

“Retailers should start building awareness just ahead of first promotable volume, then go all-in as soon as supply and sizing align — likely shortly after Memorial Day this year,” he says. “A strong start to the Northwest season is critical to establish momentum and drive destination trips. Lean into ‘now is the moment’ messaging early and often, because once peak passes, the opportunity narrows quickly.”

And Gipe-Stewart says retailers should tap into the fear of missing out in digital marketing.

“From a strategy standpoint, digital marketing should shift into high gear in early to mid June as volume builds, then stay consistent through the full season,” she says. “Positioning cherries as a limited-time, peak-summer item — while reinforcing quality, freshness and health benefits — helps create that sense of urgency and drives destination trips throughout the entire June to August window.”

But, Sinks says, it all comes down to the fruit consumers take home.

“None of this works without delivering on quality and eating experience,” he says. “In a value-conscious environment, cherries have to look great and eat even better. When shoppers feel confident they’re getting a consistently high-quality product, it drives repeat purchases. If the eating experience misses, those repeat trips become fewer and further between — something retailers can’t afford in today’s environment.”

Promotions, Promotions, Promotions

And don’t neglect promotions, Riggan says. Retailers should be confident in the quality and sizing of this year’s crop to be able to promote cherries in a way that will bring new customers to the category who will come back again and again in the season, he adds, noting that cherries are a basket-driver that justifies the floor space.

“Cherries are a powerful enough item that people will come to a store for them, and they’ll usually fill the rest of their basket with stuff,” he says. “Maybe [retailers] lean in a little bit and have some aggressive ads and then drive some new customers to the category; maybe make up your money next week, get your sales velocity up and try to drive as much volume through as you can because cherries are limited.”

Patrick says Northwest cherries will partner with Washington State University on a national consumer contest to guess the number of cherries on a tree in professor Matt Whiting’s research orchards. He says this is a promotion Northwest cherries used to do in the past, and he’s excited to bring it back.

“The winner will receive a box of cherries and there’s going to be a whole bunch of different prizes as well,” he says.

Sinks says Honeybear Brands will help celebrate America’s milestone with its own unique packaging.

“We are also packing in a patriotic-themed pack that celebrates the 250th birthday of the USA for a limited time,” he says. “That will provide a nice complement for July 4 celebrations.”

Gipe-Stewart says eye-catching packaging is a great way to catch the shopper’s eye in the produce department and build on those impulse buys. She says Superfresh Growers recently refreshed its cherry pouch bags with revamped Superfresh-branded bags and its Super Cherry program that features bold colors, graphics and visual cues to grab shoppers’ attention.

“For the Superfresh line, the new bags bring a more modern, approachable feel, while helping clearly differentiate between dark sweet and rainier cherries at the shelf,” she says. “For the premium Super Cherry line, the refreshed packaging leans heavily into the program’s core differentiators: jumbo sizing, flavor and a more elevated consumer experience. The bold ‘Jumbo Size & Flavor!’ messaging was designed to quickly communicate value and reinforce the premium nature of the fruit.”

Shales points to Stemilt’s ultrapremium cherry program, Kyle’s Pick, as a way to position cherries to highlight not only flavor but also quality.

“This is not just a fruit-size program, but [it also] looks at data from multiple points to select the very best cherries for this pack,” she says. “There is even an R&D signoff via taste test to ensure the flavor matches our Ultra Premium promise. We’ve seen success selling this alongside other cherry packages and encourage retailers to bring it in as a premium SKU like they would in berries or grapes to drive sales with specific shopper groups.”

(Photo courtesy of Oppy)

Maximizing the 90-Day Window Beyond the Holiday

Shales says it’s important to remember that “every week of cherry sales matters” and echoes Riggan’s advice for retailers to remain in constant communication with cherry suppliers to adjust as the market changes.

“The Fourth of July holiday is critical for building momentum in cherry sales as the industry reaches its peak post-holiday, yet June is a volatile time for cherry volume and pricing, and that can cause trade-offs in retail pricing that will get that momentum started,” she says. “Make the most of the holiday so that cherry sales are in ‘repeat’ mode as the peak arrives. Quality drives consumer purchases and should be a focus all season long.”

Riggan points to National Rainier Cherry Day on June 28 as a way to help promote the red-blushed cherry variety, as well as the Fourth of July, though retailers should also think about the post-July 4 window.

“We’re about midway [on July 4], so there’s a whole month and a half, almost two months of cherry sales opportunity after July 4,” he says. “There is a good volume of cherries generally through the 20th of August for sure. Again, communicate with your sales desk that they’re buying from and make sure they get all the opportunities.”

Gipe-Stewart says one of Superfresh Growers’ largest cherry orchards doesn’t begin to harvest until mid-July and continues picking into mid-August or later.

“When retailers step off promotions too early, it can slow category momentum right when the crop is hitting its stride,” she says. “The opportunity is to stay committed, maintaining strong displays, consistent ad support and digital presence throughout July and into August. Retailers who do this not only drive better movement but also maximize the full value of the Northwest season for both themselves and their grower partners.”

Sinks says a mistake retailers can make is waiting till close to the July 4 holiday to promote cherries.

“There’s often a tendency to wait for ‘perfect’ volume or cost, but in an early, dynamic season, that hesitation can mean missing the most impactful selling window,” he says.

Peak isn’t just the biggest volume, Sinks says, but it’s when quality, size and consumer excitement align.

“Retailers who lean in early, adjust pricing aggressively and promote consistently throughout the peak window will capture more dollars, drive velocity and build stronger category momentum,” he says.

New Farmworker Consultant Program Redefines the Specialized Labor Market

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 23:01:46 GMT

Semillero de Ideas recently launched the first-of-its-kind consultant program with the Washington State Tree Fruit Association in which trained farmworker consultants can work directly with the state’s tree fruit growers.

Erik Nicholson, executive director of Semillero de Ideas — an organization that trains farmworkers as consultants to help in process improvement, safety and efficiency — says this program is a recognition of the wealth of knowledge farmworkers bring, both from working in the fields and from working in farming families.

“When one talks to workers and creates a safe space, you learn just the amazing insights they have about what could or should be happening that could both enhance the dignity of work and support growers to be more productive, more efficient, safer and have higher food safety protocols,” Nicholson says. “Unfortunately, the culture of our industry has been such that it is rarely, if ever, brought into the productive process, recognized and rewarded.”

This partnership will dispatch workers to help provide ground-level knowledge. The Equitable Food Initiative developed and led a multiweek training that the farmworker consultants successfully completed.

Genaro Pavel Garcia and Josue Damian Granados are two of the first consultants to be a part of this program.

A Manufacturing Model for the Orchard

Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, says this is like in other industries where consultants can offer advice on process improvements, development of tools or other internal changes.

“With such a highly mobile workforce, some farms might be reluctant to try to bring a whole crew in to have that conversation,” he says, highlighting the value of having experienced farmworkers who know how to do harvest work or other functions provide input on process improvements.

Nicholson says the program does not seek to displace or replace the consultants working in the industry but rather to bring a different perspective.

“From my perspective, the most knowledgeable people in our industry are those actually doing work,” he says.

Nicholson says many of the processes used in agriculture today haven’t changed that much, and these consultants offer a real opportunity to create true improvements.

“In other industries, we talk about a culture of continuous improvement and someone that creates more value needs to be paid for it, and farmworkers are just as capitalistic as everybody else,” he says. “I think that’s kind of the opportunity we have. How do we invest more in the workforce? We have to create more value for everybody.”

Investing in Human Capital

Nicholson says the consultant program also provides a true career ladder, which has been lacking in the horticulture industry.

“Every worker who works in specialty ag has some trick up their sleeve about how to do things better, faster,” he says. “The challenge and the opportunity are: How do we invite folks to share that, how do we compensate them for that and how do we recognize and reward them for that?”

Nicholson says this is also an opportunity to create small changes with big impacts in the industry through productivity and efficiency. He adds that while organizational design literature promotes the idea of investing in the workforce to get desired results, the agriculture industry often falls short.

“Imagine if we apply that same logic to horticulture,” he says. “‘We’re going to invest as little as possible in the field. We’re going to cut back in fertilizer. We’re going to irrigate as little as possible. We’re not going to go high-density. We’re going to do this as cheaply as possible.’ It’s a necessary proposition, but that’s exactly what we’re doing with labor.”

Precision Approach to Productivity

DeVaney says this is a new model for the horticulture industry, though he sees the potential for these consultants.

“It’s just not something that every farm has done in the past,” he says. “It is something that’s been more common in the manufacturing and corporate environment. I think this is a longer-term project, but it’s one I think that provides a lot of good opportunities to recognize the expertise of some of these workers.”

Growers have been open to the idea, DeVaney says, though it’s not necessarily something they will seek out immediately and will likely use as a resource as problems arise throughout the growing season.

“Most people in agriculture don’t go looking for money to spend,” he says. “They address problems as they come up and as he feels necessary to do so. So, I suspect that what will happen is people will take on board the fact that this opportunity exists and will be thinking about it, and as they note problems or something that has been a longtime irritant, they’ll say, ‘Maybe that’s something I could have go through this process and see if I can get it fixed.’”

But DeVaney says the consultant program offered through Semillero de Ideas is more indicative of the current and future of the fresh produce industry, where efficiency becomes increasingly important.

“It is also representative of the transition going on in the industry, where ongoing labor shortages have more and more growers thinking in terms of productivity per worker and efficiency and how to maximize the effectiveness of your individual workforce, because adding more people becomes just physically more difficult and more costly over time,” he says. “So, the shift toward maximizing productivity through having technological assists or having process improvements — that focus is one that will take time to fully implement, but it shows that the industry does continue, as a whole, to innovate in response to pressures.”

Mexican Fresh Market Waste Stream Squeezes Washington Frozen Raspberry Growers

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 12:33:57 GMT

While the raspberries grown in Washington state are destined for processing, there has been a significant impact of Mexican imports on this industry, says Gavin Willis, executive director of the grower-led Washington Red Raspberry Commission, which represents growers and processors of about 90% of the country’s frozen raspberry supply.

Willis says, much like other industries that have spoken up about the damage of low-priced imports, growers have been facing mounting pressure for almost a decade.

“We were coming off of the 2024 harvest year, which wasn’t a great one,” Willis says. “And so our growers were feeling those impacts and pressures, especially strongly. And we’re a relatively small industry, almost like 99.8% of Washington-grown raspberries are for the frozen market. We’re growing different varieties than for the fresh market. Harvest practices are different, but since we’re such a small industry, we don’t have some of the same financial resources to pursue an anti-dumping case, for example, or do some of the more aggressive lobbying in dealing with these issues.”

Waste Stream Turned Revenue Stream

Willis says that while his state’s growers cultivate different varieties that are better suited for the frozen processing market, Mexican growers have used a different approach, selling fresh-market varieties that are unsuitable for fresh consumption to U.S. puree processors at a lower price that makes it difficult for U.S. growers to compete. Willis says these varieties have different color and lower Brix or sugars.

“What we’re seeing is that food processing companies are finding ways to say, instead of taking a premium Washington raspberry puree, you can take a puree that’s a byproduct of the Mexican fresh market, add in a little bit of sugar and a little bit of beet juice, mix it in with some other ingredients, and they’re betting on the fact that the consumer isn’t going to be able to tell the difference side by side,” he says. “You absolutely can, but once you put it in the consumer packaged good, for example, and it’s on the grocery store shelf, it can be tough for consumers to discern those types of differences.”

Willis says the pressure growers face in Washington from imports is a byproduct of the fresh raspberry industry in Mexico.

“It’s not like we’re trying to push other growers in other areas out of business. In the case of these growers, they’re making their profit margins on their fresh produce sales,” he says.

Willis notes that historically growers would leave the nonmarketable fresh fruit in the field or on the ground to be composted. He says what has likely brought part of this pressure on is that Mexican growers now face pest pressure from spotted wing drosophila, and instead of leaving fruit that is unsuitable for the fresh market to rot in the field, growers have to eliminate all fruit, as fresh fruit could attract females that could lay eggs in the culled fruit and increase pest pressure.

“They have to get that fruit out of the field,” he says. “Once it’s out of the field, they’re like, ‘Hey we need to do something with it. Do we pay a couple cents a pound to send it to the dump or does someone else pay us a couple of cents a pound and they take it off our hands?’”

And he says he also understands why a processor might opt for Mexican-grown puree.

“It’s tough to really blame a food processing company when they’re being offered somewhat similar product, even if it’s not the same, at a 40% discount,” he says. “And that’s not something that our growers can compete with.”

The USMCA Lifeline

Willis says the industry didn’t really face the pressures and challenges it does now, and growers didn’t foresee the impact imports would have in the future.

“As a small industry, the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement] review provides an opportunity for our voice to be heard where in other ways might not be,” he says.

Willis says the federal level has been receptive to the concerns brought forth by the Washington Red Raspberry Commission. He says a challenge is that this is a concern for dumping impacting the domestic market, and there’s also many different specialty crop commodities facing different challenges as USMCA is under review.

“There’s support for what we’re trying to do, but we’re in a really unique position, and we’re a small industry,” he says. “So, the potential actions that could provide benefits to our growers may not have support from other portions of the specialty crop sector.”

Willis says he and his team will continue to advocate for the industry, noting that the growers he represents are open to any solution.

“We recognize that there’s a larger framework that we’re working within as well, and so we’re willing to hear suggestions from other stakeholders on potential solutions and fixes for this issue,” he says.

He says it’s important to look at this as a food security issue, keeping production in the U.S.

“Generally across specialty crop industries, there’s a recognition that there’s a lot of challenges that specialty crop growers are facing, but it is important from a food security perspective that we continue to grow those products in the U.S.,” he says.

How to Help

Willis says an important point of contention, too, is that Washington raspberry growers are not a direct competitor of Mexican raspberry growers.

“We’re not competing directly against them, and we’re not trying to take away any of their profits,” he says. “This is really a waste stream for them that’s really hurting our growers.”

For processors looking to help, Willis says an easy fix is to purchase U.S.-grown produce and for consumers to look for “Product of the U.S.A.” on the label.

“U.S.-grown product is, we believe, a superior product to what you can get elsewhere, and you’re supporting American businesses when you buy U.S.-grown,” he says.

Big Washington Apple Crop Presents Retailers With Big Opportunities

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 23:45:08 GMT

It’s “steady as she goes” right now for apple growers, packers and marketers, says Catherine Gipe-Stewart, director of marketing for Yakima, Wash.-based Domex Superfresh Growers. Harvest began in early August and will continue until the end of October or early November with late-season varieties.

This year’s crop looks to be large, apple marketers say, with the industry buoyed by a great growing season.

“It’s an exciting time of year; every day you see crews heading into different orchards to start picking, and you know that variety will soon be available for your customers,” says Kassi Orozco, sales specialist for Grandview, Wash.-based River Valley Fruit. “I always enjoy being able to say, ‘We just harvested variety X and will be packing it by the end of the week.’”

Season Outlook

Early estimates call for around 142 million boxes, which would be a record crop. But a major theme for this season is how growers will work to pick the highest quality of apples, not necessarily everything on the trees.

“From a national crop perspective, the number of fresh apples in production is greater than current demand, which puts pressure on pricing to move through the perishable product in a timely manner,” says Brianna Shales, marketing director for Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers. “Our estimate is that a 125 [million] to 130 million box crop is more accurate with the current demand for Washington apples.”

Gipe-Stewart estimates a 3% to 10% shrink from early crop projections to apples in the U.S. Apple Association’s Dec. 1 storage report due to labor availability, weather and early freezes for later-season varieties.

Orozco says this large crop is a good opportunity for growers and pickers to harvest for quality, not quantity.

“Some growers will need to be selective, focusing on harvesting only the best fruit that will bring the right returns for their orchards,” she says.

Gipe-Stewart says this year’s crop also has the potential to offer retailers many different options, noting there’s large fruit but also small- and medium-sized fruit.

“The biggest takeaway is that we will have a nice range of sizes to support retail and foodservice across the board,” she says.

Orozco says a challenge for marketers is the tug and pull of promotions with a large crop, noting they might worry about falling behind and will push deals to keep product moving.

“With careful planning and collaboration, we see that risk as an opportunity — an opportunity to work together as an industry to move Washington apples efficiently and deliver the best eating experience to consumers across North America and around the world,” she says.

Honeycrisp, which had a down year during the 2024-25 season, is having a rebound year.

(Photo courtesy of Stemilt Growers)

Variety Mix

Making a huge rebound this year is Honeycrisp, which had a down year during the 2024-25 season.

“Industry estimates point to a nearly 40% increase in Honeycrisp volume in 2025, with organic Honeycrisp also making a strong comeback after a challenging season,” says Kaci Komstadius, marketing manager for Wenatchee-based CMI Orchards.

Shales says she also expects granny smith to be up by 20% and fuji and gala to remain relatively flat year-over-year.

Club varieties continue to grow, with Cosmic Crisp making the biggest leaps in production.

“According to Circana data for the four weeks ending Aug. 10, 2025, Cosmic ranked as the No. 3 apple nationally,” Gipe-Stewart says. “Let that sink in: A regionally grown apple from Washington State alone has secured the No. 3 spot during a period when both imports and other domestic apples are on the market.”

Gipe-Stewart says Cosmic Crisp now accounts for 12% of the apple category, behind gala and Honeycrisp.

“Even more impressive, Cosmic has held this position throughout the entire calendar year. This consistency highlights its status as an expected, mainstream variety at retail,” she says.”

Gipe-Stewart says Autumn Glory continues to outperform other proprietary varieties in October and November thanks to its unique flavor profile.

“This season presents a strong opportunity to plan pre-Thanksgiving ads for this fall favorite,” she says. “Autumn Glory aligns perfectly with consumer interest in warm, spiced flavors during the cooler months.”

Komstadius says SugarBee will see a volume increase this year, which will now offer retailers year-round availability. CMI will also offer Envy, EverCrisp, Kiku, Kanzi, Ambrosia Gold and Jazz apples.

“From Envy’s elegant sweetness to Kanzi’s bold tang, these varieties provide unique merchandising opportunities and help retailers create flavor-forward promotions that resonate with shoppers,” she says.

Orozco says River Valley Fruit has been impressed with EverCrisp.

“We remain strong believers in EverCrisp. Retailer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, reinforcing what we already know: It’s a fantastic apple with a bright future,” she says. “Customer feedback on this variety has been consistently strong, and we look forward to another great season of delivering fruit that tastes as good as it looks.”

Chuck Sinks, president of sales for Elgin, Minn.-based Honeybear Brands, says Pazazz has developed strong customer loyalty in certain markets. Honeybear Brands will also offer Honeymoon, with a larger volume than the 2024-25 season, but growers continue to plant more of the variety.

“The introduction of our newly developed Honeymoon on a very limited scale has demonstrated the desire from retailers to carry a clean, yellow apple that delivers on taste,” he says.

Retailers should expect a good volume of organic apples, says Shales, and it’s important that retailers fine-tune the organic mix and focus growth on varieties in good supply, such as Honeycrisp and Cosmic Crisp.

“Organic apples make up 12% of category volume and 17% of dollars with a retail price premium over conventional,” she says. “They are part of the everyday mix for most retailers, with 62% of the crop sold in bags and 37% in bulk.”

Gipe-Stewart says retailers can expect increased organic Autumn Glory apples.

Komstadius says consumers’ allegiance to the organic produce category should bode well for a larger apple crop this season.

“Organic shoppers are among the most loyal in the produce aisle, often willing to adjust their shopping schedule or visit multiple retailers to find the organic options they prefer,” she says. “This loyalty, paired with expanded availability, creates an opportunity for stronger year-round sales and more impactful promotional activity.”

Club varieties continue to grow, with Cosmic Crisp making a big leap in production, says Catherine Gipe-Stewart, director of marketing for Yakima, Wash.-based Domex Superfresh Growers. Gipe-Stewart says Cosmic Crisp now accounts for 12% of the apple category, behind gala and Honeycrisp.

(Photo courtesy of Domex Superfresh Growers)

Promotions This Season

It goes without saying that a larger crop would provide ample opportunities for retailers to shine a spotlight on apples.

As shoppers often purchase apple varieties based on promotions, Gipe-Stewart suggests retailers use consumers’ behavior to help boost sales.

“Since most consumers shop with ‘apples’ on their list rather than a specific variety in mind, rotating the promoted apple can keep momentum going across the category,” she says. “This strategy not only helps sustain consumer interest but also ensures movement across multiple varieties throughout the season.”

Komstadius says this is a great opportunity for retailers to lean into displays, high-impact secondary placements in high-traffic areas and cross-variety promotions to encourage trial and repeat purchases as well as branded packaging to differentiate in a competitive produce aisle.

“Core strategies include multivariety promotions that drive trial and cross-purchasing, dynamic display bins and point-of-sale materials tailored to individual retailers, and targeted digital campaigns that connect with consumers before they even step into the store,” she says.

Don Roper, vice president of sales and marketing for Honeybear Brands, suggests retailers tap consumers’ growing interest in health by touting the benefits of consuming apples, with high fiber, gut health benefits and what he calls “good mood” foods.

As the holidays near, it’s always good to cross-merchandise apples with other items, he says.

“Shoppers are also inspired by cross-merchandising items like nuts, caramel dips and cheeses, and interactive or digital signage that encourages impulse purchases,” Roper says.

Bagged apple promotions will also be a great opportunity for retailers, Komstadius says.

“The heavier crop set has resulted in slightly smaller fruit this season, which opens the door for expanded bag programs where consumers already value convenience and value-driven options,” she says. “Smaller sizing also creates strong promotional opportunities at retail, helping to drive movement and support category growth.”

Orozco says River Valley Farms took a unique approach to bagged promotions around the holidays.

“Last year, we launched a ‘Reindeer Bag’ just in time for the holidays, encouraging families to leave an apple out for Santa along with the cookies,” she says.

Komstadius says CMI plans multi-variety promotions around SugarBee, Kiku, Kanzi and EverCrisp along core varieties to help expand basket size.

Shales says retailers can see success with the apple category by creating the right mix in store. She suggests tying holiday and seasonal trends to apple categories can help drive sales. And taking advantage of crop opportunities with organics, club varieties, Cosmic Crisp and Honeycrisp will also help capture additional sales.

“The volume return on Honeycrisp should be a welcome sight, but last year proved that consumers are less price-sensitive to Honeycrisp than other apples and movement remain strong without steep price discounts,” she says. “Continuing to focus on Cosmic Crisp as a growing variety can help excel the variety and we’re excited to work with retailers on displays that wow and strategies for success within their apple mix.”

Onion Outlook: Washington and Oregon Growers Share Expectations for Harvest

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 22:32:11 GMT

Favorable growing conditions this season should result in good-quality onions out of Washington and Oregon, grower-shippers say.

In 2024, Washington, the nation’s top onion producer, grew about 21 million cwt of onions, up from about 20 million cwt in 2023, according to USDA. Oregon produced 14,189,000 cwt of onions, up from 13,747,000 in 2023.

Eagle Eye Produce

Onion acreage is up slightly this year for Iona, Idaho-based Eagle Eye Produce thanks to the acquisition of the Baker and Murakami warehouse in Ontario, Ore., says Joe Ange, Eagle Eye Produce’s director of onion sales.

“We have more supply than ever and are better equipped to support our customers,” Ange says.

The company is set to start harvesting its eastern Oregon crop in late July, which is slightly earlier than usual, and will continue through September.

Eagle Eye Produce ships out of storage through April from facilities in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

“After that, we transition to fresh-field onions from California, New Mexico and Texas,” says Ange, who adds that growing conditions have been “close to ideal.”

“The weather has been warm without excessive heat, and cool nights have created excellent conditions for onion growth,” he says. As a result, the company expects strong quality.

“The onion plants are healthy, and sizing is progressing well,” Ange adds.

Eagle Eye Produce offers a complete line of red, yellow and white onions to meet the needs of retail, foodservice and export customers, he says.

Onions 52

Syracuse, Utah-based Onions 52, which has growing and packing operations in Washington, Oregon and other locations, specializes in yellow, red, white, organic, tearless and sweet onions, says Tiffany Cruickshank, sales representative.

“In the Pacific Northwest, our harvest will begin late July and go through mid-October,” she says. “In Oregon, we will likely begin later in August and finish in the same time frame.”

The company has onions available 52 weeks a year.

“Our robust, year-round program ensures consistent supply, quality and service no matter the season,” she says.

So far, quality looks excellent this season, Cruickshank says.

“We’re optimistic that favorable weather and growing conditions will hold steady for a strong finish and successful harvest,” she adds.

Onion 52’s volume should be similar to last year.

F.C. Bloxom Co.

Seattle-based F.C. Bloxom Co. began its onion harvest the week of July 13, about five days earlier than usual as a result of a good growing season, says salesman Steve Brennan.

“There weren’t too many days over 100 degrees,” he adds.

Harvest will continue until the end of September.

F.C. Bloxom grows red, yellow, white and sweet onions and shallots, Brennan says. Yellow onions are shipped year round.

“Quality yields and size should all be good this year,” he says. “It will be a strong jumbo profile.”

The company’s volume should be about the same as last year.

Castoldi’s

Castoldi’s family farm in Walla Walla, Wash., celebrated its 100^th anniversary this year, says Nathan Castoldi, a fourth-generation owner and operator of the company.

Castoldi’s grows Candy Winter Sweets, Walla Walla sweet onions and red onions.

Harvest started June 9 for Walla Walla sweets and will continue until the end of July. Candy Winter Sweets will be harvested until the end of September.

Growing conditions were good, with no freezes and pretty fair weather, Castoldi says. Volume and acreage will be the same as last year.

Countryside Acres LLC, Walla Walla, Wash., started its harvest of yellow Walla Walla sweet onions the second week of June, says Tim Knowles, vice president. Quality is good this season, and though acreage was the same as last year, yields were higher, he says.

(Photo courtesy of Countryside Acres LLC)

Countryside Acres

Walla Walla-based Countryside Acres LLC started its harvest of yellow Walla Walla sweet onions the second week of June, says Tim Knowles, vice president.

“Weather was pretty good,” he says. “We had a good amount of rain — not too much, not too little.”

The harvest finished the first week of July; the company will offer Walla Walla sweet onions until the first week of August.

Quality is good this season, and though acreage was the same as last year, yields were higher, he says.

A Look at Exports

A number of Washington and Oregon grower-shippers say exports play a significant role in their sales programs.

About 15% of the onions at F.C. Bloxom are exported, Brennan says. Puerto Rico, Singapore, Malaysia, Guam, New Zealand and some Pacific Rim countries are the company’s main export destinations.

Export volume can depend on how crops shape up in other countries, like Holland, Spain and China, he says, because freight rates typically are lower from those growing regions.

Eagle Eye Produce exports onions to foodservice and retail customers in Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Honduras, Guatemala and other international markets, Ange says.

“Export volume can vary year to year, particularly with Mexico and overseas shipments, which are more dependent on local crop conditions,” he says.

Onions 52 exports primarily to Canada and Mexico, Cruickshank says.

Tariffs can influence export dynamics, especially in terms of pricing competitiveness and overall demand in key international markets, she says.

“We continue to monitor trade policies closely and adjust as needed to remain flexible and responsive to market shifts,” she says. “Our primary focus remains on delivering quality onions and maintaining strong relationships both domestically
and abroad.”

Washington, Oregon Onion Growers Wary of ICE Visits

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 22:06:55 GMT

So far, it doesn’t appear that onion growers in Washington or Oregon have experienced significant disruptions from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents looking for undocumented immigrants under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, but that doesn’t mean employers and workers themselves aren’t concerned.

Securing adequate labor is “getting harder and harder with ICE and deportations,” says Steve Brennan, salesman for Seattle-based F.C. Bloxom Co.

“It’s going to trickle down,” he says. “It started in the field, it’s going to trickle to the shed, and it’s going to trickle to transportation and drivers, too.”

F.C. Bloxom Co. hadn’t been visited by ICE agents as of mid-July, he says, but some nearby cherry orchards had. Even workers with valid visas were being detained while their paperwork was verified, he says. “People are a little scared.”

ICE had not bothered Iona, Idaho-based Eagle Eye Produce either, says Joe Ange, director of onion sales.

“We work with a consistent and reliable labor force that returns year after year,” Ange explains. “We have been staying up to date on recent immigration developments, and while labor is always a consideration in agriculture, we have not experienced any disruptions this season.”

The same was true at Castoldi’s family farm in Walla Walla, Wash., says Nathan Castoldi, an owner and operator.

“We have a good, solid crew and have had no [ICE] issues at this time,” he says, adding that things could change in the future.

Potato Growers Have Eyes on Potential ICE Raids and Labor Changes

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 11:28:12 GMT

As of late June, potato growers and immigrant workers in Washington and Oregon had not experienced any major disruptions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

There might have been some “small-scale, isolated incidents,” says Chris Voigt, executive director of the Moses Lake-based Washington Potato Commission, but “there haven’t been any large-scale raids of any farming or packing operations.”

There’s some concern about potential ICE actions in the state, Voigt says, adding that the potato industry is fortunate in that it is highly mechanized. Unlike growers of fruits and other vegetables, he explains, “We don’t require a lot of hand labor during our harvest.”

Voigt says he heard that President Donald Trump wants to protect agriculture workers, and Voigt would like to see some type of work visa program that will “protect good employees.”

“We’re excited that (Trump) brought it up, and we hope that he acts on it soon,” he says.

At Eagle Eye Produce, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Coleman Oswald, director of sales, says no ICE agents had shown up at Del Christensen & Sons in Mattawa, Wash., whose potatoes Eagle Eye markets.

“We’re obviously concerned about it because we need that labor to harvest our crops and to run our packinghouses,” Oswald says. “It’s a concern we have, but we haven’t had any adverse or bad experiences with it to this point.”

He says he was optimistic after hearing that the agriculture industry had expressed its concerns to Trump, and that the president had committed to address the situation.

“I don’t know what will come of that, but I do know farmers are worried about it, it has been raised up, and the government is responding saying they’ll find a way to make sure we don’t lose our labor force,” Oswald says.

“At least (Trump) sees it as an issue and said he’d do something about it,” he adds.

Ryan Schols, chief financial officer for Burlington, Wash.-based Norman Nelson Inc., says he has not heard of any local enforcement actions, however, he sees the need for a solution to the immigration quagmire.

“It’s necessary for our country to have solutions for immigration so that we can be sure we have a consistent work force,” Schols says.

In Oregon, Gary Roth, executive director of the Portland-based Oregon Potato Commission, says he was not aware of any immigration-related work disruptions so far at Oregon potato facilities.

Anticipated Crop Quality Provides a Bright Spot for Washington and Oregon Potatoes

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 18:59:21 GMT

Potato volume in Washington and Oregon may be down slightly this season, but growers anticipate decent size and quality.

Eagle Eye Produce

Growing conditions have been very good so far this summer for Mattawa, Wash.-based Del Christensen & Sons, whose potatoes are marketed by Eagle
Eye Produce, Idaho Falls, Idaho, says Coleman Oswald, director of sales for Eagle Eye Produce.

“We’ve had no major issues or disruptions from weather,” he says. “The crop is progressing very nicely.”

The company, which ships russet potatoes year round from the Mattawa location, will begin its 2025 harvest in August and continue as late as mid-October.

Oswald says Eagle Eye has been marketing product from Del Christensen & Sons, a multigenerational family farm, for about 10 years.

Great size and great quality are expected, Oswald says, “If all goes well until harvest time.”

About 70% of the product grown by the Washington location of Eagle Eye Produce goes to retail accounts, and 30% goes to foodservice buyers.

The company sells bulk product to retailers as well as consumer packs — mostly 5-pound bags but also a number of 10-pounders for club stores.

Growing conditions were favorable this season as of late June for Burlington, Wash.-based Norm Nelson Inc., says Ryan Schols, CFO. The family-owned company, established in the early 1940s, markets Double-N brand potatoes.

(Photo courtesy of Norm Nelson Inc.)

Norm Nelson

Growing conditions also have been favorable so far for Burlington, Wash.-based Norm Nelson Inc., says Ryan Schols, chief financial officer.

“It was pretty ideal for planting,” he says. “We’re looking for good weather through the growing season.”

Weather has been a bit cooler than normal, which is good for potatoes, he adds. Volume should be typical for the grower this season.

The family-owned company, which was established in the early 1940s and is now operated by members of the second and third generation, markets Double-N brand potatoes.

Norm Nelson grows red, white, yellow and a few purple potatoes. Yellows have replaced red potato as the bestsellers, Schols says.

The company will begin its harvest in early-to-mid-September and finish in early November. Potatoes will be shipped from storage through May.

Up to 80% of the firm’s tubers are sold in bulk boxes. Of the consumer packs, 3-pounders have been gaining popularity every year, Schols says.

Three-pound kraft paper bags bearing the Ladybug brand are a packaging option for organic potatoes from Portland, Ore.-based Organically Grown Co., says Jess Hardin, who leads the company’s potato program.

(Photo courtesy of Organically Grown Co.)

Organically Grown Co.

In Oregon, Portland-based Organically Grown Co., which sources and packs organic red, russet and yellow potatoes for retail customers year round, will begin its harvest in late July, says buyer Jess Hardin, who leads the company’s potato program. Yellows are its top sellers.

Potatoes are sold in bulk, in poly bags and in a 3-pound kraft paper bag under the Ladybug brand. About half the company’s potatoes are sold in bulk and half are in consumer packs.

The potato program also includes specialty varieties of red, yellow, purple, fingerling and russet potatoes, most of which are available in 20-pound bulk cases.

“We are optimistic for a great year for quality and sizing based on good growing conditions so far,” Hardin says.

Besides potatoes, Organically Grown Co. markets a full line of fresh organic produce year round that encompasses more than 350 commodities, Hardin adds.

Adjustments Made

Potato acreage will be down slightly for Eagle Eye Produce this year because of challenging market conditions, according to Oswald.

“The last two seasons were not favorable to the farmer,” he says. “There’s been a slowdown or a reduction in processing potatoes, so we’ve had processing acreage creeping into the fresh market.”

As a result, farmers were selling below the cost of production, so they cut back their potato acreage a bit.

“We’ve been in an oversupply situation as an industry,” Oswald says. “Markets have been quite suppressed.”

Although Norm Nelson Inc. usually ships potatoes through May, this year was an exception, Schols says, because the region received a lot of rain in the fall and lost some acreage. Sales were finished in March.

Schols describes prices as so-so.

“No records are being broken for great prices,” he says.

Washington and Oregon Potato Facts

Washington is second only to Idaho when it comes to potato production, says Chris Voigt, executive director of the Moses Lake-based Washington Potato Commission.

The state’s growers harvested 159,500 acres of potatoes in 2024, according to USDA, and produced 101.2 million cwt for a value of $1.1 billion.

Acreage likely will drop to 145,000 to 150,000 acres this year as a result of softening demand, mostly for french fries and frozen potato products,
according to Voigt.

“We’re not really seeing any drops in fresh potato plantings,” he says.

About 10% of the potatoes grown in Washington go to fresh market sales. The Columbia Basin in eastern Washington and the Skagit Valley are the state’s main potato-growing regions.

Oregon, the fourth-largest U.S. potato provider, produced 26,875,000 cwt of potatoes in 2024 for a value of $1.1 billion, according to the USDA.

About 5% to 10% of the state’s 43,000 harvested acres were devoted to fresh market product, says Gary Roth, executive director of the Portland-based Oregon Potato Commission.

The state typically grows about 27 million cwt, but volume has been down the past couple of years because of a reduction in processed potato acreage. That shortfall is expected to continue for the 2025 season, he says.

Potatoes are Oregon’s state vegetable, and they’re grown on 376 farms, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

There Are Strategies to Deal With Washington's Drought ... But They Cost

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 22:24:45 GMT

While the word drought might conjure images of parched, cracked earth and crispy, brown vegetation, drought means different things in different places. For tree fruit growers in Washington, for instance, it means snowless mountains and sunburned fruit. But growers in the state are working on strategies to keep their orchards alive and well and having fruit available to consumers.

According to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor, 87% of Washington is in some level of drought, ranging from abnormally dry to moderate drought. But that doesn’t tell all or even most of the story for the state’s tree fruit growers.

“Increasingly we have been seeing problems with drought in Washington state, both because we occasionally have years with lower precipitation overall, but more often our problem has been the pattern and format of our precipitation,” says Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. He explains that for orchards east of the Cascades, irrigation-season water is stored primarily in the form of winter snowfall.

“If it flows out as rainfall or premature melt, then the water is not going to be available later in the season,” he continues.

That is exactly the situation facing the state and the whole of the Pacific Northwest.

According to the most recent drought status update from the National Integrated Drought Information System, the region is in a state of persistent snow drought and rapid spring snowmelt. Specifically in Oregon and Washington, the snow drought developed early due to low precipitation. The NIDIS says this was especially the case “along the west slope of the Washington Cascade Range, where many [Snow Telemetry] stations reported peak snow water equivalent of 50% to 69% of median. A handful of sites there reported less than 50% of median peak SWE.”

The peak snow water equivalent map for Washington as of June 2025.

(USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)

The snowpack in the Washington Cascades was almost non-existent as of June 19, 2025.

(USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.)

A drought emergency was declared for the Yakima Basin in April. It later expanded to 19 other watersheds in central Washington in early June. Washington is a center of fruit tree production, with roughly two thirds of U.S. apples grown in the state, with the Yakima Basin being central to the Washington apple growing industry.

Dealing with drought on the orchard

DeVaney says the increasingly-common drought situation in Washington points to the need for state-level investment in climate adaptation, primarily in water storage. But tree fruit growers are also taking steps to be more resilient in a future with less predictable precipitation and temperature patterns.

For example, a lot of Washington orchards already have an irrigation pond, DeVaney explains. This provides water during times of need out of season with usual irrigation water availability. It’s a strategy more growers are looking into.

“Having that on-site storage can be really beneficial, but it’s not cheap,” DeVaney says. “It can cost six figures to put in a new pond for your orchard. And, of course, if you’re putting in a pond, you’re taking land out of production.”

Another directly water-related strategy is paying annual crop growers for their water when there is sufficient early warning of drought conditions. That allows the annual crop growers to be paid to fallow their lands while getting the orchards the water they need to keep the growers’ long-term investments alive and productive, DeVaney says.

“Those irrigation districts do a really good job of that and that’s beneficial certainly,” he says, “but it is certainly an added cost for those growers to try to get water from their neighbors during a curtailed year.”

Another pair of strategies that are increasingly being used are specific to apples.

“A lot of folks don’t realize that the cells of apples are as susceptible to sunburn as humans are, so if the temperatures get too high, you can have damage to the fruit from those temperatures,” DeVaney says.

Traditionally the approach to this issue has been to have overhead cooling from sprinklers. Basically the same idea as having the kids run around in the sprinklers during summer, DeVaney says.

“That evaporative cooling effect is beneficial and reduces the surface temperature,” he says, “but, obviously, in a drought and intensive heat years, using more water may not be the best or even an available solution.”

So, apple producers are trying two different approaches: using shade cloth over orchards to offer UV protection and shifting sprinkling technology to produce mist, thereby reducing droplet size and water use while still getting the same cooling effect. Both of those strategies come with added costs, however. Shade cloths and the associated infrastructure come with costs and added annual labor to put it up and take it down. New misting infrastructure also comes with costs.

“The challenge in the current ag economy is you can solve one problem — constrained water — by replacing it with another resource, which is money,” he says, noting that money is often the scarcer resource. “It’s one thing to recognize that there are solutions and adaptations to climate challenges, but it’s another to actually pay for them because we are usually trading off one resource for another.”

State-level efforts to be more water resilient

While growers are taking the steps they can to improve their on-farm resiliency to increasing drought and uncertainty, becoming more adaptable to meet all of the state’s water stakeholders — agriculture, environment and beyond — takes state-level effort.

“I think the biggest water issue we’re facing is having the infrastructure to better manage the resource,” DeVaney says. While praising the state of Washington and its irrigation districts for making investments in a more versatile future, he also notes that “designing, permitting, and constructing some of those additional storage measures is going to take quite a while. That is a multi-decade effort.”

There are ongoing state-level efforts that run on a shorter timeline, however.

“A lot of our university researchers, including programs supported directly by industry dollars, are focused on climate resiliency and water management and heat management for our orchards,” DeVaney says, highlighting ongoing research on varietals.

“Some varieties are more vulnerable to damage from high heat than other apple varieties, one of the more popular apple varieties being Honeycrisp,” he says. “While that’s a very popular variety with growers and consumers, that is a factor that producers have to think about.”

Another big water issue DeVaney cites as being pressing to the tree fruit growers of Washington is public perception and understanding where water management is concerned.

“The changing climate can mean, over time, you’re going to have to have more interventions to manage that resource for optimal outcomes, both for farming but also for natural resource use,” he says. While he acknowledges that the hands-off approach can sound romantic, more management often results in better outcomes for everyone.

“I think that that is one of the biggest impediments, just getting people to recognize that beneficial management is not just a grower concern,” he continues. “Making further investments in managing our river systems can ensure that there’s water available for irrigation, and to manage flows for salmon and threatened or endangered species that are using those rivers. We can manage the flow levels to ensure that the temperatures are conducive to healthy rivers and streams.”

And growers, irrigation districts and Washington are good at managing the challenges of increasingly frequent drought and uncertain weather patterns, DeVaney says.

“They put costs on growers, but for the end consumer, it’s usually pretty invisible,” he says, adding that consumers won’t see a decline in quantity or quality of Washington tree fruit. “But they should have some sympathy for growers who are having to put in a lot of extra cost and effort in order to ensure that outcome.”

Next-Gen Cherry Grower on the Making of ‘World Famous’ Fruit

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 11:22:22 GMT

Fifth-generation Washington farmer Tate Mathison and his father, Kyle Mathison, are bringing new meaning to the term “cherry picking.”

For over a decade, the Mathisons have grown and sourced ultra-premium cherries for Stemilt Growers under the Kyle’s Pick brand. But what began as a “pet project” has evolved into something much more, says the younger Mathison of his father’s namesake cherries. Now backed by science and empirical data, the family says it’s bringing consistently “world famous” cherries to market each season.

For Tate Mathison, who grew up working alongside his father on his family’s Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Hill cherry orchards, knowing where to find the best fruit has long been second nature, but how best to communicate that knowledge to his retail customers was a question that needed an answer.

“I remember thinking, ‘these cherries are so amazing, but how do I really communicate to my customer that these are super-duper?’ You can do it by size, but that doesn’t ensure that the cherries are the best, because you can get big cherries that just taste OK — but some taste amazing,” he says. “So, we wanted to ensure that … and to communicate to the end consumer that Kyle’s Pick are the cherries we’d be looking for if we were shopping for cherries.”

What began as cherry picking the best of the best by instinct is now a data-driven and highly selective quality control process that aims to deliver fruit that meets ultra-premium standards for size, firmness, color and flavor.

“The essence of Kyle’s Pick was that, as a fifth-generation cherry grower, I can go on any orchard and tell you if there’s going to be good cherries, and then if there is, I’ll know exactly where to get them on every single tree,” says Mathison. “That was the spirit of the program and we’ve gotten better and better at it over the years to where now we feel we have coupled the passion of what my dad’s been doing as a fourth-generation cherry grower with the science and the empirical data of the fruit.

“Today, it’s now a huge, multidepartment process,” he continues. “Dozens of people are involved in the selection process itself, and there’s a huge amount of effort to ensure that Kyle’s Pick delivers that same eating experience every time.”

Premium Picking

Mathison says varieties are the foundation of a premium cherry program.

“With cherries you’re going to pick that tree one time and when it’s picked, it’s done,” he says. “And specific cherry varieties are grown in locations to extend the season from the first week of May to the first week of September. You have all these varieties staggered throughout the season and some varieties can be excellent and some can be pretty good at their best.

“What Kyle’s Pick does is take only certain varieties that can be ultra-premium — [bing, sweetheart, skeena and Staccato] — that’s the first thing, and that baseline is based off our generations of cherry growing and scouring the globe for varieties,” says Mathison. “We set the bar at these varieties for Kyle’s Pick, and then once the varieties are chosen, we map out when those varieties will pick and where.”

From here, Mathison says the field staff team comes in to identify the growers “doing the right stuff” to cultivate ultra-premium varieties.

“The top level narrows down by the grower and how good they are,” he says. “Because it takes no skill to pick a cherry early, but it takes all the skill in the world — and all of the hutzpah — to pick it when it’s ripe, because all the risk now belongs to the grower.

“You pick a cherry five or six days early, sure it’s red. It tastes OK. It’s going to make it through the packing process, but it’s not going to delight consumers with excellence,” he says. “It’s just going to be a cherry.”

The field team then passes the baton to the R&D team, who collect data from the orchards that show premium potential. Each lot undergoes a rigorous quantitative analysis and is given a score based on Kyle’s Pick proprietary scoring system. Only cherries that earn a 90 or higher make the grade.

“They’re out there scouting ahead and pulling samples as harvest is starting to come along, and then it gets passed off to our QA (quality assurance) team,” says Mathison. “As the grower goes into harvest the fruit, we take multiple field samples throughout the day. One grower lot might get six to 10 field samples done by our team and they run the full gamut — size, color, firmness, sugar, defect, stem quality, etc. — throughout the day. So, we have a very good understanding of the fruit as it’s getting picked.”

Once the data on each grower lot is uploaded to the system, the team ranks them.

“It’s just like March Madness,” says Mathison. “All those growers get ranked, and we’re looking at the qualities and the varieties, and then we have notes from the R&D team, and we have this cherry meeting that we love. Then we start to qualify the grower lots of what will be Kyle’s Pick.”

Kyle’s Pick cherries are a family affair for the Mathisons.

(Photo courtesy of Stemilt)

Limited-Time Offer

Mathison says while Kyle’s Pick aims to deliver on a promise to the consumer with every bite, time is of the essence with a seasonal fruit like cherries.

“You have May, June, July and August — four months,” says Mathison. “And in those four months, how many times are they going to the store? How many times are we going to be on promotion with a lot of volume? How many times are we going to be able to delight someone with something they’ve never experienced before?

“Because cherries have that ability,” he continues. “There’s only a handful of fruit that really can do it, and that’s really what we’re trying to do with Kyle’s Pick — to give someone a taste of something that’s just like, ‘Wow.’”

Because of these rigorous standards, there may be pauses in supply of Kyle’s Pick to its retail customers, says Brianna Shales, Stemilt’s marketing director, who adds “it’s all part of keeping the bar high.”

But having cultivated and selected cherries for the Kyle’s Pick program since 2013, Mathison says his family continues to build on volume and quality.

“You have to have a large block of premium fruit to start with before you can even attempt something like Kyle’s Pick,” he says. “That’s why it’s taken 10 years to really get to the point where we feel like, hey, we’ve got the world’s best cherries; we’ve got to tell the universe.”

But the volume is limited, says Mathison, who on June 20 when he spoke with The Packer, was packing only a couple hundred boxes of Kyle’s Pick a day out of about 70,000 boxes packed a day.

“It’s a pretty small amount now, however, my dad starts to pick next week and my brother is picking now, so in about seven or eight days, we’ll be harvesting two or three varieties that are really superior.”

And the market demand for a premium fruit experience is strong, he says.

“We found that the marketplace desires something like Kyle’s Pick. Retailers want to have something special to give to their guests. And the end consumer is super hungry for it as well,” he says. “If you have a customer that actually puts cherries on the list, it’s a pretty well-informed customer already and they’re probably willing to pay a little bit more for an experience that is mind blowing.”

A 1-pound clamshell of Kyle’s Pick cherries retail for between $3.99 and $5.99, depending on the market, says Shales.

Mathison expects they’ll ship around 200,000 boxes of Kyle’s Pick this season out of a total of 3.5 million to 4 million boxes of Washington cherries.

Generations in the Making

What does it mean to bring a cherry named for your father to market and how do you plan to carry the legacy forward as a fifth-generation cherry grower?

“It’s very humbling, because what we’re doing is not built in one lifetime,” says Mathison. “You can look within Stemilt the company and in the farms we have and you can see that the fingerprints of generations past.”

From his great-great-grandfather, who first homesteaded on the property, to his grandfather, who applied for and received the last point of diversion off the Columbia River in 1978, allowing his ancestors to irrigate the orchards, Mathison says he and his brother have been set up for success.

“It’s like they put us on the 10-yard line to score and to be successful,” he says. “They did most of the work, and now it’s just up to me to give my best effort to the next point of the legacy, to hopefully improve it — to hopefully grow it in a way that’s helpful to our community and to the folks who are part of our company.”

Mathison says the sixth generation — his and his brother’s children — are already involved in the family business and excited to be a part of it.

“My kids see what my dad is doing, and they’re like, ‘I want to be like that. I want to do that. That looks fun.’ You know what? It looks fun to me too,” he says.

Consumer packs gain traction for onions

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 17:03:15 GMT

Bulk onions marketed by grower-shippers in Washington and Oregon typically outsell packaged product, but they say consumer packs have been steadily gaining traction.

“Consumers love the convenience of prepackaged onions,” said Joe Ange, director of onion sales for Eagle Eye Produce, Idaho Falls, Idaho.

“It saves them the hassle of selecting and measuring quantities, making shopping quicker and easier,” he said. “They also appreciate the familiarity and trust that comes with seeing a consistent, branded label in stores.”

Retailers find packaged onions easier to merchandise than bulk onions, Ange said.

“The uniform packaging makes for attractive, organized displays that are easy to restock,” he said.

Consistent labeling also speeds up the checkout process, helps maintain brand recognition and simplifies inventory management, he added.

Eagle Eye Produce offers a range of packaging options for its onions, from 1-pound bags for individual consumers to 50-pound sacks designed for bulk buyers and foodservice providers.

“Our 3- and 5-pound midsized bags are particularly popular for their convenience and consistent quality,” Ange said.

Some supermarkets have found that they can use the “charisma of having a bunch of colossals or jumbos” in a bulk display to spur purchases of consumer packs, said Bill Bloxom, an owner of Seattle-based F.C. Bloxom.

Larger onions attract shoppers’ attention in a merchandising bin, he said.

“As people get closer, and they’re in a hurry, they just grab a bag,” he said.

The company offers 40-pound cartons, master bags of 16 3-pound consumer packs, 10 5-pound consumer packs and reusable plastic containers. About 70% of its onions are sold in bulk cartons, and 30% go into consumer packs.

Demand for onion consumer packs actually began to increase prior to the pandemic, but it has continued during the post-pandemic period, said Molly Connors, vice president of sales and marketing for Basin Gold Cooperative, Pasco, Wash.

Basin Gold offers 50- and 25-pound units as well as 2-, 3-, 5 and 10-pound consumer packs, RPCs and Euro cartons.

“There’s not much we can’t do,” Connors said.

The co-op uses high-graphic packaging as a marketing tool on some of its smaller, high-end bags, she said.

All of the onions sold by Castoldi Family Farm, Walla Walla, Wash., are sold in bags, said Nathan Castoldi, an owner and operator. Sizes include 5-, 10-, 25 and 50-pounds.

Some sellers break up the 50-pound bags and merchandise the contents as bulk onions, he said. But many also are purchased by consumers who might share them with friends and neighbors or sometimes keep them all for themselves.

“If you can keep onions in a cool, dry place and out of the sun and get them out of the bag, you can make them last for a decent amount of time,” Castoldi said.

Sustainability focus

Sustainability is of growing concern when it comes to packaging.

Eagle Eye Produce has felt an increase in pressure from consumers and retailers for sustainable packaging solutions, Ange said.

“The pandemic highlighted the importance of packaged produce, and now there is a strong push toward making those options more environmentally friendly,” he said. “We are actively exploring more sustainable packaging materials to meet those demands.”

F.C. Bloxom’s packaging material is PET 1 recyclable, Bloxom said.

“But it’s a question of what people do with it,” he said.

Recycling must be convenient for consumers if it’s going to be effective, he said.

Bloxom estimated that less than 10% of the company’s recyclable “bowling ball bags” are recycled by consumers.

Recyclable packages aren’t as strong as conventional packaging, so they’re subject to more damage as they’re moved around, said Steve Brennan, salesman at F.C. Bloxom.

Food safety and traceability often are more important to retailers than recyclability, he added.

“Traceability is big,” he said. “They want to make sure everything is traceable to its origin in case there’s a food safety issue.”

Basin Gold Cooperative has done some investigating into recyclable packaging, but there is a higher cost associated with it, which consumers and retailers are often reluctant to pay, Connors said.

“It’s a matter of getting the marketer, packer and consumer on the same page,” she said.

Castoldi Family Farm doesn’t receive many inquiries about the sustainability of its packaging, Castoldi said. But he added that sometimes consumers return the 50-pound bags for reuse.

Washington, Oregon growers benefit from heavy onion demand

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 12:21:40 GMT

Growers in Washington and Oregon are hoping for continued heavy demand as the 2024 onion harvest gets underway.

In 2023, onion utilized production in the Pacific Northwest was up 6% from the previous year, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. However, the value of utilized production in Oregon was down 24% from the previous year to $171 million. Washington’s value also was down 24% from 2022 to $384 million.

Washington, Oregon and Idaho accounted for 58% of the national utilized onion production.

Washington and Oregon grower-shippers offer a wide selection of onions starting in summer and often continuing until spring or beyond.

Seattle-based F.C. Bloxom Co. will offer Walla Walla sweet onions until Aug. 15 or Aug. 20, said Bryon Magnaghi, who manages the firm’s Walla Walla, Wash., office.

In September, the company will transition to its new crop of yellow, red, white and Washington sweet onions.

“Walla Walla sweets will end, and Washington sweets will begin,” said sales representative Steve Brannan.

Early varieties will be shipped out of the field, but most will go into storage and ship as late as mid-June.

In the past, storage onions would barely last until April, said Bill Bloxom, an owner of the company. New technology and improved seed types have boosted the storage period by about six weeks.

Shown from left, Joseph Stilnovich, Humphrey Egwuenu, Filogonio Jimenez Cruz and Jack Irwin, team members at Seattle-based F.C. Bloxom Co., are in the midst of a busy Walla Walla sweet onion season, which will be followed in August by a new crop of yellow, red, white and Washington sweet onions, says Bryon Magnaghi, who manages the firm’s Walla Walla, Wash., office.

(Photo courtesy of F.C. Bloxom Co.)

Volume of Walla Walla sweet onions, which are not shipped from storage, likely will be a bit higher this year compared to last year, Bloxom said.

“We’ve got a good-looking crop,” he said.

Prices have been good, too.

“The Walla Walla sweet onion is sort of a limited specialty crop, so overall, we’re able to hold a better price than general sweet onion prices,” he said.

Walla Walla-based Castoldi Family Farm, which will mark its 100th anniversary next year, offers Walla Walla sweet onions, limited volume of red onions and, starting Aug. 15, Candy Winter Sweets, said Nathan Castoldi, a fourth-generation owner and operator of the company.

Candy Winter Sweets are a hybrid Washington sweet onion that comes on when Walla Walla sweet onions end, he said.

The Walla Walla sweets harvest began the first week of June this year, a couple of weeks sooner than usual because of a number of warm days that pushed the onions to get them done a bit earlier, he said.

“Quality has been really good this year,” he added.

Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Eagle Eye Produce has undergone some significant changes to help the firm to better serve its customers, said Joe Ange, director of onion sales.

“We have hired more industry veterans onto our sales team,” he said, including Dillon Duncan, most recently with Owyhee Produce, Parma, Idaho.

Eagle Eye Produce has invested in a state-of-the-art storage facility in Nyssa, Ore., which improves its ability to maintain the quality of its onions for longer periods, he said.

“We have also expanded our production capabilities by partnering with more warehouses,” Ange said. “These strategic partnerships ensure a consistent, year-round supply of onions, enabling us to the meet the increasing demand from our customers.”

The company offers yellow, red and white onions year-round in all pack sizes under its Harvest Select brand.

“We recently started offering shallots, sourced direct from family farms in Eastern Oregon,” he said.

The company will ship its onions out of storage in the Northwest until the beginning of May.

“For the remainder of the season, we rotate through Southern states to ensure a continuous year-round supply for our customers,” Ange said.

Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Eagle Eye Produce has expanded its production capabilities and made other improvements to help the firm better serve its customers this season, says Joe Ange, director of onion sales. Eagle Eye offers yellow onions, shown here, as well as red and white onions under the Harvest Select brand and recently added shallots, Ange says.

(Photo courtesy of Eagle Eye Produce)

Pasco, Wash.-based Basin Gold Cooperative’s harvest of red and yellow onions will start in late July, said Molly Connors, vice president sales and marketing. White onions will start later.

Growing conditions this summer have been similar to last year, she said — a two-to-three-week hot spell hit with temperatures over 100 degrees. Hot weather can affect onion size, yields and harvest date, she said.

Basin Gold will ship onions from early August until mid-to-late May.

“We will ship onions direct from the field as well as send some to storage,” Connors said. “Volume looks to be average, but that could change depending on the duration of the heatwave.”

Onion prices are up from last year, but onion growers still face financial challenges.

Even if growers can charge more for their onions than last year, Castoldi said, “We could always use more with all the price increases.”

Inflation raised prices on a number of inputs as well as the cost of labor, he said. Grower-shippers must pass along those increases, and that’s had an impact on consumers.

“People are still buying onions,” Castoldi said. “They’re just not buying as many at a time.”

Eagle Eye Produce also is dealing with rising labor costs and other price increases, Ange said.

“Inflation continues to pose a challenge, leading to higher production costs,” he said. “We are adapting by looking for efficiencies wherever possible.”

Fuel prices are down this year at F.C. Bloxom, Magnaghi said, but prices of fertilizer, seed and other inputs have increased,

“The cost of labor goes up every year,” he said.

Washington, Oregon potato growers anticipating strong harvest

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:45:39 GMT

Conditions are looking good for another season of quality red, white and yellow potatoes from growers in Washington and Oregon.

The 2024 harvest is expected to get underway sometime between late July and early September, with start dates varying slightly by grower.

Burlington, Wash.-based Double-N Potatoes, ships red, yellow and white potatoes and a few purple ones, said Ryan Schols, chief financial officer.

Harvest will start the first or second week of September, he said. This year’s volume should be similar to last year’s.

The company was still planting in late June because of wetter-than-usual weather. There were no extended sunny periods during which the tubers could be planted, he said. Schols was hopeful that planting would be finished soon.

Double-N Potatoes ships from September until the end of April.

Burlington, Wash.-based Double-N Potatoes, ships red, yellow and white potatoes and a few purple ones, says Ryan Schols, chief financial officer. Harvest will start the first or second week of September, he says. This year’s volume should be similar to last year’s.

(Photo courtesy of Double-N Potatoes)

Burlington-based Valley Pride Sales LLC also will kick off its 2024 harvest in early September, said salesman David Clark.

The company, which ships potatoes year-round, offers white, red and yellow potatoes and some small potatoes for consumer packs.

Although the growing area had some cool, wet weather, Clark did not expect the less-than-ideal conditions to impact the quality of the company’s potatoes. But he did say volume could be a bit lighter than usual.

Although based in Iona, Idaho, Eagle Eye Produce has a year-round potato program out of Mattawa, Wash., said Coleman Oswald, director of sales.

“We never gap at all,” he said.

The 2024 harvest should start the first week of August.

Weather has been “sporadic,” he said, with periods of cold, wet, windy days mixed with a few hot days.

“It’s been a little bit all over the place,” he said. “But there’s nothing that concerns us in a major way.”

“We haven’t had any wild weather — no hail damage on fields and no drought conditions or anything like that.”

The company’s acreage will be down this year because of crop rotations and an industrywide oversupply.

“There’s been an oversupply situation, so grower returns are below the cost of production,” Oswald said. “We’re hopeful, with this upcoming season, that will get corrected, and we’ll get supply more in line with demand, and we’ll be able to get prices back up to sustainable levels.”

Potandon Produce, Pasco, Wash., expects to have a higher-quality crop of russet potatoes this year than last year, said Sean Davenport, marketing manager.

“Last year had its ups and downs,” he said.

This year’s crop should be more consistent.

The 2024 harvest should get underway at the end of July with no gaps, he said.

“It should be a smooth transition from the old crop to the new crop.”

But Davenport said there could be some relatively minor price changes at the end of the crop year, depending on factors like yields and quality of the existing crop.

There were no frosts or hot spells this year in Potandon’s Washington growing area, so good quality is expected, he said. Yields should be similar to last year.

If growing conditions remain “normal,” there should an even distribution of sizes, he added.

The company ships out of Washington year-round.

Washington and Oregon potato growers are coping with the same inflationary pressures as growers everywhere, though some say the rate of inflation is slowly dropping.

“Costs to grow are definitely leveling out a little bit compared to the major increases we saw the last few years,” Oswald said. “It’s still costing us more than it ever has, but at least the increases in the cost to grow are smaller this year.”

Davenport said the inflation rate seems to have slowed, but it’s still rising. And costs remain higher than past years.

The cost of labor is up at Potandon, Davenport said, but freight rates have remained relatively steady.

Costs for fertilizer, pesticides and water have gone up this past year, which creates a challenge for growers when there’s an oversupply of product and low market prices.

But consumers aren’t leaving potatoes off their grocery lists.

Potatoes are one of the lowest-priced items in the produce department, they go with every meal and they’re very nutritious, Davenport said.

“Cost per serving, it’s still one of the best values out there,” Oswald said.

Washington, Oregon potato stats

USDA estimates that Washington produced 99.7 million hundredweight of potatoes in 2023, about 10% of which was destined for fresh market.

Total potato production this year will be down due to a reduction in acres planted, said Chris Voigt, executive director of the Moses Lake-based Washington Potato Commission.

“We planted about 16,000 fewer acres this year,” Voigt said. “So far, the growing season has had perfect weather for potato production, so we expect our yields per acre to be up.”

Voigt predicted an overall drop of about 8% in Washington’s potato production compared to last year.

Total potato acreage in Washington is projected to be down 10% to 12%.

Growers in the state have planted an estimated 144,000 acres of potatoes, of which about 16,000 acres are for fresh market.

Oregon’s growers produced about 27.4 million hundredweight of potatoes in 2023, according to USDA.

About 10% of that volume is for fresh market, estimated Gary Roth, executive director of the Portland-based Oregon Potato Commission.

Oregon grows about 43,000 acres of potatoes, he said.

Consumer bags are packaging favorites for potatoes

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 12:34:23 GMT

Consumer packs typically account for about half the fresh-market potatoes shipped by suppliers in Washington and Oregon, grower-shippers say.

Although Double-N Potatoes based in Burlington, Wash., offers potatoes in a mix of bulk cartons and consumer packs, the 5-pound yellow and 5-pound red consumer packs are the most popular packaging option, said Ryan Shols, chief financial officer.

“[Packaging] definitely picked up during the pandemic,” he said, when many consumers turned to bags or clamshells rather than bulk product because of perceived hygiene issues.

Sales of packaged potatoes have held steady since that time, Schols said.

Pack styles often vary by region, said Sean Davenport, marketing manager for Pasco, Wash.-based Potandon Produce.

Although Potandon sells a lot of 50-pound cartons to retailers, foodservice operators and wholesalers, 60% of the potatoes the company ships are in consumer packs.

Pack sizes range from 1- and 1.5-pound bags of mini potatoes up to 15- or 20-pound poly bags. Five- and 10-pounders are the most popular sizes.

Packing bags is more expensive than putting potatoes into cardboard cartons, Davenport said.

Different machines are used and more labor is required to produce 5- or 10-pound bags and pack them into cartons, he said.

Consumer bags now account for 40% to 50% of potato packaging from Iona, Idaho-based Eagle Eye Produce, which grows potatoes in Mattawa, Wash., said Coleman Oswald, director of sales.

But during the pandemic, they made up about 90% of the company’s potato packout. That’s because indoor dining was shut down as well as ballparks, stadiums and other public venues, and the vast majority of Eagle Eye’s potatoes went to retail customers.

“Almost everything we were packing had to go into a poly bag for consumers for a while,” Oswald said. “It slowly drifted back to a more normal 50-50 blend.”

Although corrugated material used for 50-pound cartons is expensive, it’s more expensive to pack poly bags, he said.

“It is a slower process to pack for retail into consumer bags versus when you can just put everything into a 50-pound box,” Oswald said. “Even though your packaging costs are higher, you make up for all of that with your efficiencies when packing bulk versus small packs.”

There’s also the overage factor. A 3-pound poly bag of potatoes, for example, must contain at least 3 pounds of product. To ensure the proper weight, packers routinely pack over the minimum requirement.

“You have to have a little extra in each of those packs,” he said. “With 16 3-pound bags, all 16 have to have to have a little overage, so you end up giving away more potatoes.”

The same thing goes for a 50-pound box, Oswald said.

“But if we put 51 pounds in, we’re good to go,” he said.

Although sustainability seems to be on everyone’s minds these days, potato grower-shippers say not many of their customers ask about sustainable packaging. But that doesn’t mean packers have not adopted sustainable practices.

“To keep working for 60 or 70 years like we have, you have to be sustainable,” Schols said. “You want to use that land over and over again.”

Only “a couple of retailers here and there” ask about Potandon’s sustainable packaging, Davenport said. Potandon reviews packaging every year, and sustainability is something the company keeps in mind when discussing packaging upgrades, he said.

Department of Labor fines Washington grower $74K for H-2A violations

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 18:24:48 GMT

Sunnyside, Wash.-based mushroom grower Ostrom Mushroom Farms was recently fined $74,000 in civil penalties for H-2A worker program violations by the Department of Labor, which cited the farm with not paying workers the required H-2A wage rate and for failing to meet basic housing and food requirements.

The Department of Labor was able to recover $59,000 in back wages for workers from the employer, according to a news release.

Ostrom Mushroom Farms operates on 43 acres in Washington’s Yakima Valley region, which includes mushroom growing faculties and a packaging facility. The employer supplies produce from Washington, Oregon and Hawaii to grocers such as Safeway, Kroger and Trader Joe’s, along with food processors such as Food Services of America, according to the Department of Labor.

“Employers participating in the H-2A guest worker program must make sure that they provide housing as required, that housing is sanitary, that vehicles used to transport workers are safe and that workers are paid correctly for all hours they work,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva said in the release. “Our nation depends on agricultural industry workers to feed our families, and we are committed to making certain industry employers fulfill their legal responsibilities.”

Investigation findings from the DOL

The federal agency’s Wage and Hour Division investigation determined that Ostom Mushroom Farms failed to pay farmworkers the required wage rate and did not provide cooking facilities or three meals per day, all requirements for the H-2A temporary agriculture program.

“Workers arriving at the place of employment discovered housing listed in the job order was not available and the employer placed the workers in a hotel temporarily,” according to the investigation report.

Related news: Grower group expresses alarm over new H-2A wage rule

During worker’s hotel stay, they had no access to cooking facilities and the Ostrom Mushroom Farm failed to provide meals, forcing workers to incur expenses to obtain meals daily, the report continued.

“The division assessed $70,348 in civil money penalties on a per-worker basis due to the violations’ seriousness,” the report said.

What’s more, Ostrom Mushroom Farms also failed to keep accurate records, present pay stubs with key information and inspect housing before occupancy. According to the Department of Labor report, the farm also paid a recruiter nearly $10,000 for their visa, an unlawful cost-shift that resulted in additional civil penalties.

Earlier this year, Ostrom Mushroom Farm settled a $3.4 million civil rights lawsuit for what was described as “unfair, deceptive and discriminatory actions against female farmworkers and Washington-based workers” According to the Washington attorney general’s office, the employer replaced female workers with temporary H-2A male workers.

Ostrom Mushroom Farms had not responded to request for comment at the time of publication.

Starr Ranch Growers looks for a strong cherry season

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 10:00:30 GMT

The Washington cherry crop is running late this season, but it will be well worth waiting for, says Dan Davis, director of business development for Starr Ranch Growers , Wenatchee, Wash.

Harvest timing was as much as two weeks beyond last year, Davis said.

At close to 15 million cartons a year ago, Davis said cherry production should rate above the five-year average and may come in from the low to mid-20s-million-carton range.

Starr Ranch Growers expects to start in a small way around June 18-20, with volume ramping up by June 25. Shipments will continue strong through July and run through the entire month of August.

While Northwest cherry shippers are typically shipping heavy for the Fourth of July, this year volume for holiday promotions will be tighter.

California cherries may be harvested until the second or third week of June, Davis said.

“For all the thoughts that we were going to overlap California, we’re not going to have much overlap,” he said. “I think it is going to be a tough gap to bridge actually.”

Starr Ranch Growers offers a combination of pouch bags, clamshell and top-seal packs, Davis said. Clamshells can be a good option for e-commerce retail platforms, he said, while pouch bags are still popular for selling cherries with large, eye-catching displays at retail, he said.

Export markets are expected to show strong demand for Northwest cherries, Davis said, with Taiwan, South Korea and Japan typically among the firm’s top export markets.

Starr Ranch Growers does offer organic cherries, and its volume of organic cherries has been increasing in recent years.

One concern this year for Northwest organic growers is the lateness of the bloom. Mildew can be an issue for organic fruit later in the summer because there are not as many crop protection tools to combat it compared with conventionally grown fruit.

Cold is key

The key to cherry quality for both conventional and organic fruit is the cold chain, and Starr Ranch Growers has that covered from the field to the packinghouse, Davis said, as cherries are hydrocooled in the field and then placed in refrigerated trucks to the packing house, where the fruit is immediately put in cold rooms.

“Cold is the biggest focus as far as preserving cherry [shelf] life,” he said.

Starr Ranch Growers features Unitec cherry-packing technology with advanced optical sizing and grading capabilities.

Chelan Fresh expects plenty of cherry promotions this summer

Wed, 31 May 2023 11:30:28 GMT

While retailers may not be able to take full advantage of vast Northwest cherry supplies for Fourth of July ads, Mac Riggan says grocers will have many opportunities to reap dollars from retail cherry promotions later in the summer.

Riggan, director of marketing for Chelan Fresh, Chelan, Wash., said that the state’s later-than-usual harvest start will result in lighter-than-typical June volume. Still, the combination of California fruit and early volume of Northwest cherries should supply U.S. retailers with good promotable Fourth of July volumes, he said.

And beyond that, Riggan said there will be good promotable Northwest cherry volume all of July.

“And it’s probably going to be one of the better supplies for August that we’ve ever had,” he said. “So, retailers, whatever they don’t make up [early], they could really make it up in July and August. I think the Washington crop bodes well for retailers.”

The first industry estimate put the Northwest cherry crop at 19.9 million boxes, Riggan said, substantially up from 2022.

Bing variety cherry trees seem to be carrying bigger yields than some other varieties, he said.

In general, cherry yields north of Wenatchee may be a little lighter than southern districts, he said.

Mid-May temperatures were running 85 degrees to 90 degrees. A continuation of those unseasonably warm temperatures could push harvest up a few days as the season goes on, Riggan said.

Hot temperatures could leave shippers a little better prepared for Fourth of July ads than they anticipated in early May, he said.

While there were still more questions than answers about the crop in mid-May, Riggan said he believes it will be a good Northwest cherry season for all.

Variety and pack options

Chelan Fresh will continue to feature Orondo Ruby variety cherries, which will begin harvest around June 25. That’s about 10 days later than usual. The variety is harvested and packed for a couple of weeks.

Besides pouch bags and other options, Chelan Fresh also offers top-seal cherry packs in the options of 1-, 2- and 3-pound capacities, he said.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits opens processing facility

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:42:42 GMT

Okanagan Specialty Fruits , the creators of genetically engineered nonbrowning Arctic apples, recently unveiled a 110,000-square-foot processing facility in Moses Lake, Wash.

The facility has the capacity to process more than 50 million pounds of apples per year, according to a news release. Adjacent to the processing facility, a controlled atmosphere storage facility is under construction and scheduled to be completed in early 2024.

Once fully built out, the company can store, process and pack more than 100,000 bins of Arctic apples, the release said. The campus is located 30 minutes from OSF’s Arctic apple orchards, the release said.

“We’ve redefined what it means to process apples in North America,” Neal Carter, the founder and president of OSF, said in the release. “Our Moses Lake facility is a game-changer in efficiency and bringing us closer to our orchards. When the controlled atmosphere facility is finished, every step from the orchard to the package of Arctic apples will happen right here.”

The grand opening of the processing facility in late September attracted more than 150 industry leaders, local officials and other guests, the release said, adding that attendees were given tours of the facility and a visit to OSF’s nearby Arctic apple orchards. FOSF employees were on hand during the tour, providing insight into the facility’s modern design and answering questions, according to the release.

The facility, strategically located within the new Moses Lake Commerce Center adjacent to Grant County International Airport, is expected to employ over 100 individuals initially, potentially expanding its workforce as technology and demand continue to play a pivotal role, the release said.

“We are unwavering in our commitment to delivering the finest product while maintaining the highest standards of employee and food safety,” Don Westcott, senior vice president at Okanagan Specialty Fruits, said in the release. “We are excited to be part of the Moses Lake Community.”

Okanagan Specialty Fruits’ 1,250 acres of Washington-grown Arctic Fuji, Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny apples are fueling the company’s growth, according to the release.

Arctic Gala will be the next variety for the company, followed by Arctic Honey and Arctic Pink, according to the release.

What sets Arctic apples apart is their ability to stay orchard-fresh for up to 28 days, making them a favorite in schools, restaurants, convenience stores, and retail outlets alike, the release said.

“For the first time, restaurateurs, schools and more can eliminate the hassle, risks and labor costs of on-site slicing, all without compromising flavor and quality,” Rebecca Catlett, director of marketing and communications at OSF, said in the release. “With Arctic apple slices staying fresh after slicing, they’re a game-changer for both foodservice professionals and their customers.”

The company will feature a video tour of the processing facility at booth No. 381 during the International Fresh Produce Association’s Global Produce & Floral Expo in Anaheim, Calif.

CMI Orchards touts premium Ambrosia Gold apples

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 21:54:30 GMT

New crop Ambrosia Gold apples from CMI Orchards are marked by high flavor, vibrant color, and a superb eating experience, the company reports.

Ambrosia apples have consistently secured a top-three position in total branded apple sales for over a decade, Rochelle Bohm, vice president of marketing at CMI, said in a news release.

“The very best Ambrosia — the cream of the crop — are meticulously selected and packed under our exclusive Ambrosia Gold label,” Bohm said.

CMI’s Ambrosia Gold roots come from the legacy of the McDougall family, who pioneered the introduction of Ambrosia apples in the U.S. The apples quickly gained popularity thanks to their sweet honey flavor, delicate flesh and resistance to browning, the release said.

Ambrosia now ranks as the ninth-bestselling apple in the U.S., the release said, encompassing all conventional and specially licensed apple varieties and brands. The opening of the patent in 2017 allowed other growers to join the Ambrosia apple family, contributing to its growth, according to the release.

Addressing the question of the difference between Ambrosia and Ambrosia Gold, Bohm said that the Ambrosia Gold label — available exclusively from CMI — was introduced to distinguish CMI’s own as a premier offering from regular Ambrosia in the market.

According to Nielsen Data covering the latest 52 weeks ending on Nov. 4, CMI commands a 50% share of the total Ambrosia market volume, the release said.

CMI’s Daisy Girl Ambrosia Gold leads the organic Ambrosia category, making up an impressive 11% of the total organic Ambrosia sales, excluding private label, the release said.

“The McDougalls firmly established Ambrosia Gold as a retail staple across America,” Bohm said. “Top retailers recognize the ‘McDougall difference’ and embrace the opportunity to feature Ambrosia Gold year-round — available in both conventional and organic options.

“Sales figures speak for themselves: Ambrosia Gold consistently delivers robust sales, solidifying its position as a favorite among both consumers and retailers alike,” Bohm added.

Washington State Tree Fruit Association annual meeting set for Dec. 4

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 13:30:11 GMT

The Washington State Tree Fruit Association will host its 119th Annual Meeting and NW Hort Expo at the Three Rivers Convention Center and Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash., on Dec. 4-6.

The two-and-a-half-day event serves as a forum to discuss the latest trends and hot topics within the tree fruit industry, according to a news release. This year’s theme is Deep Roots — New Strategies: Innovative Thinking for Today’s Challenges.

Topics of interest include:

How to stay competitive as profit margins tighten.
Climate challenges.
Market conditions.
Updated horticultural practices.

The goal of the year’s meeting is not only to discuss the challenges facing the industry, but also to identify strategies and solutions to overcome them, the release said.

Staying consistent with this year’s theme, the Batjer Address will be given by David Granatstein, professor emeritus at Washington State University. Granatstein will look back at the evolution of sustainability in the food system over the course of his professional career and how the tree fruit industry has participated.

The Dec. 4 keynote speaker will be David Magaña, vice president and senior analyst for Rabobank’s RaboResearch Food and Agribusiness group.

Based in California, Magaña is responsible for covering and analyzing the U.S. and North American fresh fruit, vegetable, and tree nut industries. He has a strong background in agriculture and works together with an international team to collect key insights into commodity markets, conduct in-depth analysis of the factors that drive sector success or failure and examine the megatrends that ultimately influence clients’ business strategies, according to the release.

This year the NW Hort Expo will expand to accommodate more exhibitors at both the Three Rivers Convention Center and Toyota Center, the release said. The trade show is free to attend.

Full meeting information, including the program guide, events, registration forms and lodging information, are available at the WSTFA website, wstfa.org .

Sage Fruit at AWG showcase: Strong apple promotions available now

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 18:39:24 GMT

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Sage Fruit Co. had good news for retail attendees at the Associated Wholesale Grocers’ seventh annual Innovation Showcase, March 25-26.

“We are getting through the season in good shape, and there are a lot of good supplies to offer retailers for promotional opportunities,” said Kevin Steiner, president of business development and marketing for Yakima, Wash.-based Sage Fruit Co.

Sage Fruit has a plentiful supply of popular varieties such as Honeycrisp, granny smith and Cosmic Crisp, Steiner said. What’s more, Sage Fruit will have supply of the premium SugarBee variety apples into the summer for the first time.

“We have really good promotional opportunities,” he said.

Great expectations are ahead, with cherries blooming in Washington state in late March, he added.

Apple time

Pricing data from the UDSA indicates greater promotional activity for apples in March compared with a year ago.

The USDA reported that the average promotional advertised price for Honeycrisp apples on March 22 was $1.79 per pound, down from $2.10 per pound the same time a year ago.

For granny smith apples, the USDA reported an advertised price of $1.39 per pound, down from $1.86 per pound at the same time a year ago.

Total apple movement was well above year-ago levels, according to the USDA.

For the week of March 17-23, the USDA reported total U.S. apple shipments of 3,595 (40,000-pound) truckloads, up 24% from 2,893 truckloads for the same week a year ago. Including export shipments, Washington apple shippers accounted for 85% of U.S. fresh apple volume in late March, according to the USDA.

Sage Fruit looks for big rebound in cherries

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 18:12:06 GMT

After a down crop year in 2022, Yakima, Wash.-based Sage Fruit Co. is looking forward to rebounding with a large cherry crop volume in 2023.

“This season brings with it a significant amount of growth at Sage Fruit, and in turn has built a lot of excitement for the coming season,” said Chuck Sinks, Sage Fruit’s president of sales and marketing.

The marketer’s Northwest cherry crop spans from southeastern Washington, through The Dalles and Hood River in Oregon, up through the Yakima Valley, then shifts north through Wenatchee and Chelan in Washington, up to the Canadian border, Sinks said.

Sage Fruit partnered with Chelan Fruit during the 2022 cherry season and will continue to do so in 2023, Sinks said. Chelan Fruit joins the Sage Fruit family of growers, packers and shippers to enhance the marketing, sales and distribution of their Washington-grown tree fruit, he said. Through this partnership, Sage Fruit adds a considerable volume of cherries to its manifest, Sinks said.

Chelan Fruit is a nearly 3,000-acre farming operation with its own packing and cold storage facilities and is one of Washington’s leading fruit producers, Sinks said. The additional acreage that Chelan Fruit will be contributing spans the northern growing region of Washington state, which provides Sage Fruit with greater geographical diversification, Sinks said.

Growing season

The Pacific Northwest experienced a cold but mild winter. Growers were hit by a late-season snowstorm in south-central Washington in early April, which Sinks said pushed the bloom date slightly. Temperatures remained cool through March and early April, he said.

“Our earliest districts began blooming in mid-April,” Sinks said. “Given the later bloom, the Pacific Northwest cherry season looks to be running about 10 days later this season than a typical year.”

However, the variable weather patterns are lending to good separation between districts, he said, which will allow for late-season cherries.

“Our cherry season looks to kick off in mid-June, with our first peak coming in late-June to early-July, Sinks said. “We should maintain promotable volume through mid-August.”

Sage Fruit is carrying both dark sweet and rainier cherries in 2023. The varieties of dark sweet cherries Sage Fruit packs include benton, skeena, regina, sweetheart, bing, chelan, cowiche, korida and tieton, he said.

Sage Fruit has two separate cherry packing locations, in Chelan and Wapato, Wash.

“Our teams have heavily invested in their packing line equipment to ensure only the highest-quality product is shipped to our retail and wholesale partners,” Sinks said. “Our lines are equipped with optical sorting which facilitates the elimination of both internal and external defects of the fruit.”

Organic

Sinks said conventional cherries make up most of the marketer’s volume, but organic cherries are available.

“We’ve seen a steady increase in requests for organic cherries,” Sinks said, noting that the Northwest organic cherry crop is roughly 2.5% to 3% of the total cherry crop.

“Currently, the volume industrywide does not appear to be growing, but with organic trends, it stands to reason that it will grow in the future,” he said.

Sinks said about 30% of the total organic cherry crop will be exported in 2023.

Packaging and marketing

Bags continue to be the primary pack style requested by retail partners, Sinks said, though the industry has migrated away from the standard Ziploc and are now packing into pouch bags.

“Clamshells are available but are used less frequently, and when they are, it is usually driven by merchandising needs and/or the lack of ability to use a scale as they are sold by the unit instead of per pound,” he said.

Sage Fruit offers customized, season-long marketing and sales programs to meet customers’ needs, Sinks said.

“With various pack styles, sizing and in-store POP material available, our goal is to help customers maximize their sales dollars through a tailored approach,” he said.

Visibility is the key for both in-person and online sales, Sinks said.

“Secondary displays, category size/location and ad frequency all play key roles in higher cherry sales,” he said. “One out of four Americans buy cherries each year, with 72% of purchases being impulse buys. Retailers can capitalize on that by setting up a secondary display at the front door or near the checkout lanes.”

Sinks said Sage Fruit currently has cherry-specific POP bins available to all the company’s retail and wholesale partners at no cost.

Secondary displays drive 13.6% more lift in volume, 22.4% more in dollars, he said.

“Keeping cherries in front of consumers for the duration of the season is the best way to maintain sales, whether it be in circular ads or multiple locations throughout the store,” Sinks said. “Promotions drive increased sales, while simple price drops fail to draw as much attention.”

Cross-merchandising also is important, he said.

“Cross-merchandising with other recipe and usage ideas such as oatmeal, meat marinades, sauces, jams, salsas and pies prove that cherries are an expandable category,” Sinks said.

CMI offering big variety of cherries, expanded crop

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 10:00:30 GMT

CMI Orchards ’ cherry program offers the largest varietal section of cherries available in the market today, says Rochelle Bohm, vice president of marketing for the Wenatchee, Wash.-based supplier.

“With conventional and organic options, high-graphic point-of-sale materials to capture impulse purchases, and omnichannel support to drive sales, we have everything you need to capture cherry sales throughout the season,” Bohm said. “Being a one-stop shop for our customers is really at the heart of what we do. Providing supply and support in every facet that we can means we not only deliver the best tasting fruit on earth, but also skyrocket sales for our retailers to carry their produce department through the entire year.”

Bigger expectations

CMI has a strong cherry crop forecast for 2023, said Joel Hewitt, domestic sales and organic manager.

“All our districts have reported a moderate to heavy-set crop in comparison to last year where weather resulted in a smaller-than-expected harvest,” he said. “Coupled with CMI’s huge varietal selection, retailers will have more than enough cherries to keep sales buzzing throughout the summer.”

Hewitt said CMI is optimistic that retailers will get more “bang for their buck” on summer ads, with bigger volume and excellent quality forecasted.

“We continue to closely monitor the harvest forecast and expect a strong, healthy crop — with the latest crop updates indicating we could see a 75% harvest increase over 2022,” Hewitt said.

Because of cooler temperatures over the winter and early spring, the start of cherry harvest for CMI was pushed back, with Hewitt reporting it will kick off around the middle of June.

“With the crop expected to be much more loaded this year, we’re going to be peaking the entire month of July with the state anticipating its peak around July 12,” he said. “After that, things will start tapering down and will run until the very end of August.”

Larger volumes mean more cherries for both domestic and export customers, he said.

Variety selection

Bohm said CMI’s branded-cherry programs include Strawberry Cherries and Skylar Rae, two popular branded conventional cherry options.

“Skylar Rae is by far the sweetest cherry you’ll ever eat with a very unusual and much coveted ‘crunch’ when you bite into their sweet flesh, and Strawberry Cherries’ darling freckles with hints of fresh summer strawberries have people waiting for their return every single year,” she said.

Hewitt said CMI is doubling in volume with Skylar Rae and Strawberry Cherries compared to last year.

In addition, Bohm said CMI will have organic red and rainier cherries in its Daisy Girl Organics line.

“This familiar, fan-favorite program effortlessly captures incremental sales from health-focused consumers,” Bohm said.

Marketing highlights

CMI’s marketing program will feature its XXL Cherries and American Dream programs, Bohm said.

“XXL Cherries is our premier, super-sweet and juicy jumbo-sized cherry program that proves that bigger is better,” she said. “American Dream is a patriotic feel-good program that gives back as much as it gets, delivering a platform for promotions aligned with key patriotic holidays and barbecue season. Both programs feature high-graphic, high-impact packaging designs perfectly crafted to capture impulse sales during the intense upcoming cherry season.”

As part of CMI’s omnichannel support, its programs — especially those like American Dream — are easily customizable, and CMI is happy to work hand in hand with retailers to design a system that works best for their specific desires, Bohm said.

In terms of pack options, Bohm said CMI continues to see success in packing its cherries in several formats for diverse shoppers and selling platforms.

“We specialize in pouch bags, clam shells, top seal trays and bulk,” she said.

Starr Ranch Growers adds organic volume of Honeycrisp, other varieties

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 19:13:31 GMT

Got some organic Honeycrisp? That is the question that the market is asking suppliers, says Dan Davis, director of business development for Wenatchee, Wash.-based Starr Ranch Growers .

“It seems no matter how much we transition, this market wants more,” Davis said.

Starr Ranch Growers provides a year-round supply of conventional and organic fruit through a dual-hemisphere program, he said.

This year, a larger crop in Washington will bring more volume to the marketer’s organic program, Davis said.

Looking for value

Inflation is a concern to some organic consumers, Davis said.

“It’s certainly making a segment of the market take a step back in their evaluation of what goes in their cart,” Davis said. “We’ve got to find a way to provide ‘value’ organic options for that segment. Retail needs to find [a] way to provide those options to those cost-conscious consumers.”

In recent developments, Starr Ranch Growers has added some social accountability elements to the auditing and tracking efforts of its sustainably-grown program, Davis said.

Organic gala and Honeycrisp give retailers a dynamic duo

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 16:00:30 GMT

Organic gala and organic Honeycrisp provide both retailers and consumers with great options, says Kaci Komstadius, vice president of marketing for Sage Fruit Co. , Yakima, Wash.

“Our most sought-after organic item by retailers is organic Honeycrisp, with organic gala running a close second,” Komstadius said. “Organic Honeycrisp is a high-end consumer favorite, which has an excellent ring at the register. On the opposite side of that though, organic gala is an excellent option for the everyday organic consumer because it is more price friendly.”

Sage Fruit Co. is the sales and marketing firm for five Northwest tree fruit packing facilities, Komstadius said. The marketer’s organic fruit is grown throughout eastern Washington — from the southeastern region, through the Yakima Valley and Chelan, and up to Okanogan. Organic packing facilities for Sage Fruit are in Chelan and Yakima.

“We offer a wide variety of organic apples and pears year-round,” she said.

Sage Fruit employees work hard to deliver fruit that meets the company’s tagline of “An Exceptional Eating Experience,” she said.

This season, Sage Fruit will have organic SugarBee available, as well as an increased volume of organic Cosmic Crisp, Komstadius said.

“Additionally, we are offering several new pack styles that will lend well to flexibility in sizing and accommodate retail and consumer needs,” she said.

Komstadius said inflation has caused some consumers to buy conventional instead of organic.

“As a marketer, we continue to encourage retailers to build nice eye-catching displays and put organic apples and pears in ads more frequently with other organic items,” she said.

Washington weather sets the stage for a strong CMI Orchards apple season

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:40:03 GMT

The growing season has been excellent for Washington apples, says Robb Myers, and that is just the start of the good news.

Myers, vice president of business development for Wenatchee, Wash.-based CMI Orchards, said in a news release that the marketer will have a great selection of branded, core and organic apples and pears in the 2023 crop.

“We set a lot of king blossoms this year, and the best blooms always produce the best fruit,” Myers said. “On top of that, the weather hasn’t been too hot, which means the trees are able to focus on growing the fruit rather than trying to survive any sort of inclement weather conditions.”

This perfect alignment of factors yields a promising outlook for the upcoming new crop, Joel Hewitt, CMI domestic sales and organic manager, said in the release.

“Sizing looks optimal, and the condition of the crop is shaping up nicely to have year-round availability for most of our varieties,” he said. “All indications suggest we’ll see a stellar crop.”

Hewitt said that growers have planted varieties that meet the demands of the market.

Related: Washington apple crop up big for 2023, grower group says

“Our growers are multigenerational orchardists carrying legacies that are ripe with expertise,” he said. “They’re able to play matchmaker by planting popular, profitable managed varieties and the best-tasting core varieties in select microclimates and harvest altitudes, which allows them to bring the freshest, highest-quality, most popular products to market.”

Signs point to increased production for organic, core and managed variety volume, Hewitt said.

Scott McDougall of McDougall and Sons, an ownership arm of CMI, said in the release that he is optimistic about the harvest.

“This is one of the nicest, cleanest apple crops I’ve ever seen at this point in the growing season, with minimal russeting and blemishes,” McDougall said. “We’re hopeful for a great season ahead, pending any unforeseen circumstances.”

Retailers can already plan promotions around the crop, Hewitt said.

“Shoppers will enjoy fruit with exceptional flavor and color this coming season, and retailers who start off the season prepared—with planning, promotions and point-of-sale materials—will have an advantage,” Hewitt said in the release.

Related: Another big Michigan apple crop on tap

Stemilt Growers offers big volume of organic apple and pear favorites

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 12:44:55 GMT

Stemilt Growers produces nearly 30% of its apples and about 15% of its pears organically , says Brianna Shales, marketing director for the Wenatchee, Wash.-based marketer.

Stemilt has been growing organics since 1989 and produces consumer favorites like fuji, gala, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and granny smith organically along with modern varieties growing in popularity like Cosmic Crisp and SweeTango, Shales said.

“Our brand, Artisan Organics, is our promise to consumers to artfully grow organic fruit for flavor first,” she said.

Stemilt Artisan Organics apples and pears come from some of the best growing locations in Washington state to ensure that Stemilt delights consumers with a year-round supply of core varieties, Shales said.

“Volume is up for organics this year, and we’re looking forward to partnering with retailers on promotions for apples and pears,” she said. “We’ve received great weather this growing season, which has fueled fruit with sweet flavors for people to enjoy. We’re excited to see club varieties like Cosmic Crisp and SweeTango continue to grow in volume so we can share these apple options with the organic consumer.”

Related: Organic seed, agtech among topics of OGS 2023 educational program

Stemilt has many ways to help retailers find sales success with organic tree fruit, Shales said. Those strategies range from pop-up displays and signage to assist with sales or display contests to be part of big feature promotions.

“The best practice for organic apple category growth is to run at least one multivariety promotion each month,” she said.

One long-term trend has been the rising demand for packaged organic fruit, Shales said.

“It’s very important for retailers to secure ring at the register from organic purchases so they get their dollars for the category,” she said. “We know this can be a challenge, especially with self-checkout stations, so Stemilt has launched a new sustainable packaging solution called EZ Band. The EZ Band is a four-pack of apples made from 100% paperboard including a tension band holding it all together.”

Shales said Stemilt designed the package to be easy for retailers to stock, easy for consumers to shop and easy to ring up bulk organic apples at the register in one scannable unit.

“We now have a whole lineup of EZ Bands available including fuji, gala, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and granny smith along with Cosmic Crisp and SweeTango,” she said.