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From the publishers oF: lake Chelan mirror • the leavenworth eCho • Cashmere valley reCord • Quad City heraldFebruary 12/13, 2014

By Matt BaideStaff Writer

Fire Blight is a bacterial dis-ease that may attack apples and pears under certain weather conditions when flowers are present on the trees. The disease only occurs if a series of events happens in a certain order.

WSU’s Extension Educator Tim Smith presented his sum-mary of recent results in Fire Blight Control at the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day, Jan. 20.

First, a bacteria known as Erwinia amylovora must be present nearby. Second, The bacteria has to be transported from an oozing canker to the stigma surfaces of open flowers, which is usually done by flies or pollinating insects. Warm temperatures must be present, because warmth allows the bac-teria to swim from the tip of the stigma where they were growing to the nectarines, which provide them the necessary open entry into the tree.

From there, the bacteria that have gained entry into the highly

susceptible young fruitlet must then find growing conditions to their benefit, which allows the bacteria to grow rapidly and overwhelm the flower tissues, leading to infection. Within, 10-to-30 days of initial infection, the damage appears on the tree as a “strike”, and by this time, the bacteria are moving symptom-lessly through-out the host tree.

Smith out-lined some key points that can help to prevent infection or re-duce damage to the host tree and orchard. He states that sanita-tion of the neighborhood is the most important step in control. The disease is tough to control if there are active cankers nearby, which will provide a constant source for high numbers of blight bacteria. The control of blight depends on the identifica-tion and removal of as many of the active cankers as possible.

The transportation of bacteria to blossoms is the second step

in the disease process. Smith outlined that there were efforts made to reduce infection by controlling insects that visit blossoms were never successful, which eliminates it as a type of prevention.

Temperature is a big key in the disease’s development. Smith said the bacteria multi-

ply best on the flowers’ stigma surfaces, using the same food and moisture resources that t h e p o l l e n needs for ger-

mination and growth. The mul-tiplication rate of the bacteria is dependent on the moment-to-moment temperatures.

According to Smith, if the infection risk forecast indicates infection conditions are possible in about three or four days, the flowers may be protected during the days leading up to that infec-tion with products that hinder development of the bacteria try-ing to grow on blossoms.

The last time growers can

prevent the disease is during the wetting of the flowers. According to Smith, infection occurs when the blossoms are dampened by rain, dew or light irrigation. Smith’s presentation outlined that if the infection risk model indicates that infection condi-tions have occurred over the past several hours, antibiotics are the only effective treatment to reduce the degree of infection. The antibiotic should be applied within 24 hours before or after the infection event to be most effective.

After infection has occurred and the strikes appear, there is little that can be done. Smith states in his presentation that prevention is better for manage-ment of the disease.

For more information on the disease or questions about the disease, contact the WSU Re-gional Extension at county.wsu.edu/chelan-douglas/pages/default.

Matt Baide can be reached at 509-682-2213 or by email [email protected]


Moving across the country is never easy, but for Dr. Desmond Layne, the move to this area has been great.

Layne is the first hire from WSU’s Tree Fruit Campaign and Tree Fruit endowment.

“The goal ultimately was to raise funds that would go into an endowment that would be managed by Washington State University and the tree fruit industry, to serve the industry with research and technology transfer and support for the primary research farms where we do tree fruit research,” Layne said.

The goal of the campaign is to raise $32 million from two special project industry assess-ments. The first assessment was put to a vote of the growers in 2011, which was passed. With the project passing, apple and pear growers are contributing $1 per ton into the assessment. The second assessment was put to a vote of the growers in 2013, which was passed. With the proj-ect passing, cherry growers pay $4 per ton on sweet cherries and $1 per ton on other stone fruits such as apricots, nectarines, peaches and plums.

With the money that is being raised, there are three areas that are being funded for the

project. These include hiring faculty research chairs, invest-ing in information and technol-ogy transfer and investing in research orchard operations.

An endowed chair is a faculty position at the university that is for an established scientist that will build a research pro-gram in their particular ex-pertise target-ed towards the specific needs of the industry.

“ I n d u s t r y identified re-search priori-ties include or-chard systems management, s o i l r e p l a n t disease man-agement, pest management and post-har-vest issues. It could also be any number of other key issues that the indus-try identifies as top priorities in the future,” Layne said.

The investment in technol-ogy transfer helps hire people that will be involved directly in transferring research-based technology to the growers.

“Working with the research

scientists and working with the growers (to) bridge the gap so that the research results can be put in the hands of the growers so they can use it,” Layne said.

The investment in research orchard operations is to support the tree fruit research farms

in Wenatchee and Prosser and to help improve facili-ties.

“It will help e n a b l e t h e faci l i t ies to cont inue to be excellent to support in-dustry prior-ity research projects. It may include site enhance-m e n t s o r e q u i p m e n t added or ad-dit ional re -s o u r c e s t o be able to do work on the farms,” Layne said. “It’s re-ally a historic

opportunity. The tree fruit en-dowment is the largest gift to WSU that has ever occurred, so it’s a big deal.”

Layne is one of the endowed chairs. He is also the Tree Fruit Extension Program Leader and

a Professor of Pomology in the Horticulture Department. He spent the last 15 years in South Carolina at Clemson Univer-sity, primarily working with the peach industry, before moving to the Wenatchee Valley. He said the area is the most beautiful place he has ever lived and he has found the people to be warm and friendly.

His primary area is doing applied field research and overseeing the i n fo r m at i o n and technol-ogy transfer part of the en-dowment.

“It’s a shared r e sp o n s i b i l -ity, it’s a true partnership,” L ay n e s a i d . “The industry has something called an en-dowment ad-visory commit-tee. Seven indi-viduals from the industry have been appointed from various organizations to work directly with the college Dean, me, other endowed chairs to ensure that we are all on the same page as decisions are made for hiring and the different directions that these programs will go.”

Layne spoke at the Lake Chelan Horticulture day, giving an update on the progress. He has spoken at 8 events through-out the region, letting people know that the project is moving forward.

“It’s a reporting back to the people kind of presentation,” Layne said. “We want the indus-

try know that we are here to serve them and we listen to them to dis-cern what the key issues are that they face so that we can help.”

L a y n e shared that he is currently wo r k i n g o n developing a new tree fruit web site for the fruit grow-ers through-out the state. He wants the web site to be

a comprehensive site that is a “one-stop shop” where growers can go to get research-based information.

“There is a need, I think, from the growers standpoint, to be able to come to one place to be able to get all the types of in-formation that they are looking

for. We want to make it easy for them to search for that kind of information so that it wouldn’t waste their time if they are trying to learn about a specific thing that could be helpful to them,” Layne said.

One of the ultimate goals for the project is to create a world-class team of technology trans-fer individuals and services to assist the tree fruit industry in Washington.

“Eventually, what I would hope down the road is that WSU would have the best tree fruit re-search and extension outreach team of any university in the world,” Layne said. “I believe that is a goal that we will reach, simply because of the invest-ments that are occurring now. We already have the world’s best tree fruit industry!”

“It’s an exciting time to be in Washington, the fruit industry is a dynamic, productive and profitable industry,” Layne said. “They are committed to the suc-cess of their businesses and the future. They’ve been aggressive in partnering with the univer-sity in unprecedented ways and the university administration is a very committed partner and will make the right investments in the future.”


“Working with the research scientists and working with the growers (to) bridge the gap so that the research results can be put in the hands of the growers so they can use it.”

-Dr. Desmond Layne WSU’s Tree Fruit

Campaign and Tree Fruit endowment

WSU fund to help fruit industry

Dr. Desmond Layne

Hort day attendees learn about fire blight prevention

Temperature is a big key in the

disease’s development.

Mirror photo by Matt BaideWSU’s Tim Smith speaks to the audience at the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day, Jan. 20.

WTFRC combating replant issueBy Matt BaideStaff Writer

“Replant is a huge problem, especially in the Lake Chelan area.”

Tom Auvil with Washington Tree Fruit Research Commis-sion gave a presentation at the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day, Jan. 20, regarding the problem faced in this area with apple replant disorders than can be mitigated with newly commer-cialized rootstocks.

“When you take out old trees and plant new ones, all the cul-tural practices to encourage trees to grow quickly need to be diligently accomplished to have the new orchard be eco-nomically viable,” Auvil said.

Auvil said that the volcanic soils of the Lake Chelan area have unique properties, one of which is the ability to become firmly compacted from trac-tors travelling up and down the rows. Soil compaction is particularly important to manage when the orchard’s row spacing change in the new planting.

“Some of that ground had been out of apple production

for many, many years, let’s say 50 years,” Auvil said. “Apple trees still didn’t grow very well in it. We had some of these rootstocks in unfumigated ground that did really well. So that precipitated additional trials and additional looks for performance in these replant settings.”

In terms of types of apple trees, there is a difference. Red Delicious do not tolerate replant soils as well as Golden Delicious or Gala.

WTFRC has conducted ex-periments in places other than Lake Chelan such as Brewster, Royal City, Vantage, Naches and Wapato.

“We’ve looked at different environments with different soil types, water sources and scion varieties,” Auvil said. “Also, all the trials have gone into replant ground that has had fumigation and good soil conditioning such as deep rip-ping. Some trials have unfumi-gated plots for comparison to fumigated plots. There are six rootstocks that have performed similarly in unfumigated com-pared to fumigated plots. G.41,

Photo courtesy Washington Tree Fruit Research CommissionAuvil said that the volcanic soils of the Lake Chelan area have unique properties, one of which is the ability to become firmly com-pacted from tractors travelling up and down the rows.See REPLANT on Page C2

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WSU conference brings women in agriculture together to network and learn

G.935, G.214, G.210, G.30 and G.890 have demonstrated simi-lar performance in fumigated and unfumigated conditions. The yields from these replant tolerant rootstocks in unfumi-gated plots are now exceeding the yields of commercial stan-dards such as Bud 9 and M.9 EMLA in fumigated plots. The genetics of the rootstocks are present for the life of the tree,

whereas the fumigation effect only helps during the year of planting.”

Auvil also shared some in-teresting information about the experiments done by the team.

“The genetics of these new rootstock will improve tree performance, increase yields and reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers,” Auvil said. “And these are products of natural processes. Pollen was taken from one parent and put into the flower and another par-ent and the seeds were grown and then screened for disease resistance by inoculating thou-sands of seedlings with several diseases. The survivors were then planted for evaluation as rootstocks. There are no GMO, no unnatural, non-apple movement of genetics. These rootstocks were developed with pollen and flowers.”


Apple crop export on the rise

Photo courtesy Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission

REPLANT: Genetics of the rootstocks are present for the life of the treeContinued from Page C1


Washington’s apple crop is on the rise, es-pecially when it comes to exporting the apples overseas.

Washington Apple Commission President Todd Fryhover presented to the attendants at the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day on Monday, Jan. 20, about the varietal trends and consumer implications.

Last year, the apple crop in Wash. produced

about 110 million, according to Fryhover. The projection for the following year is expected to increase to nearly 125 million.

There is also going to be a rise in both domes-tic and exports of apples, said Fryhover. The presentation showed that 71 million cartons of apples were kept domestically while exports for this past season was about 38 million fresh cartons. Exports are projected to see a huge increase next year, with the projections of exported fresh cartons of apples expected to be around 64 million cartons, according to Fry-

hover’s presentation. Washington exports about 33 percent of its crop every year and a study showed that five million additional cartons on the domestic market would yield about $55.17 million in grower loss.

The presentation showed that there was a considerable increase in most types of apples that were exported than in previous years. The biggest increase was with Fuji apples, which saw a 63 percent increase in exports from the previous season.

Fryhover also outlined the need to increase

the reach of Washington’s apple crop to China. The goals encompassed with this task are to ex-pand consumer targeted promotions to increase awareness beyond major metros and to partner with media brands in China. The target audience in China is the 500 million middle class consum-ers, a market that could greatly increase the profitability of the Washington apple crop.


Graphics courtesy Washington Apple Commission

Submitted by Margaret Viebrock,WSU Extension

Women in Washington, Or-

egon and Idaho will gain prac-tical advice for improving farm management skills and networking with other women producers at the 2014 Women in Agriculture Conference to be held at 28 locations on Sat-urday, March 15.

The conference is designed for women who have been farming for years as well as for new and aspiring farmers.

The keynote address will be broadcast to all 28 confer-ence locations; find them at http://womeninag.wsu.edu/wa-locations/. In addition, each location will feature three lo-cal women producers who will share their experiences.

The registration fee is $25 before March 1 and $30 af-ter. Registration includes the workshop, l ight breakfast, lunch, handouts and a book. To learn more and register, visit http://www.womeninag.wsu.edu.

“Women are uniquely tasked with the demands of both farm and family, which can make travel to one state location a

challenge,” said WSU Douglas County Extension director and chair of the conference Marga-ret Viebrock. “The format of this conference enables us to offer our headline speaker at

all locations while also tailor-ing the conference content for each region.”

This year’s event, “Change Happens: Make It An Oppor-tunity,” will cover topics in-

cluding farm business deci-sion-making, using financial records to improve the bottom line and problem solving for change.

“Last year nearly 500 wom-

en attended,” said Viebrock. “Many attendees reported it was one of the best confer-ences for women producers because it presents practical information they can use right away for handling their financ-es, communicating with other businesses, networking with other women and improving their business operations.”

This year’s keynote speak-er, Heather Darby, is a sev-enth-generat ion owner of the 200-year-old Darby Farm (http://www.darbyfarm.com/The_Darby_Farm/Welcome.html) in the Lake Champlain Islands near Alburgh, Vt. She

will share her strategies for success of the 130-acre diver-sified farm, which produces a wide array of vegetables and fruit. It includes a small apiary, CSA program and farm stand and operates a custom graz-ing service for local organic dairies.

Darby wi l l d iscuss how change has been a constant in her operation and has pre-sented her with opportunities related to financial issues, organizational management, employees, starting a family and handling risk management issues related to weather, pric-es and work-life balance.

C2 Lake CheLan Mirror/The LeavenworTh eCho/CashMere vaLLey reCord/Quad CiTy heraLd • February 12/13, 2014

Upcoming meetingsthe following is a schedule of upcoming horticultural meetings in the local region.

Feb. 18Oroville Rectification Meeting10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Oroville Grange

Feb. 18 Pear Research Review8 a.m. to 4 p.m.Yakima Red Lion

Feb. 20Northwest Wholesale, Inc. Pateros Recertification Meeting,8 a.m. to12:30 p.m., Pateros Central Building

Crop insurance deadline approaching

Changes in pest management for farmers

Tree fruit expert shares research on apples, pears and cherriesBy Matt BaideStaff Writer

Apples, pears and cherries are three of the biggest crops for Washington. Information for increasing efficiency on grow-ing these crops can help our economy tremendously.

Professor Stefano Musacchi, of the WSU Tree Fruit Research Ex-tension Center, presented his re-search and goals on apples, pears and cherries at the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day, Jan. 20.

Musacchi shared the re-search that was being con-ducted on high density plant-ing (HDP). According to the presentation, the main trend in European orchard design is to increase planting density. HDP is expanding with pears, apples and cherries due to widespread use of dwarf rootstocks to re-duce tree size and induce early bearing. HDP does include high capital outlay, meaning that the break-even point occurs five to eight years after planting.

There are a few reasons why HDP could be used. There could be a lack of cultivatable land, high cost of land, lack of skilled labor and increase in labor costs, according to the presentation.

Musacchi outlined some of the advantages and disad-vantages of HDP. In terms of advantages, it increases tree efficiency, increases productiv-ity and allows fruit distribu-tion in the canopy to be more homogenous. It also has low

pruning cost, vigor control and a high level of mechanization including pruning, thinning and harvest.

The disadvantages are the high cost of establishment for HDP, the short lifespan of the orchard and the need of dwarf-ing rootstocks.

Musacchi outlined implica-tions and research goals for the Pacific Northwest Fruit In-dustry. For apples, he outlined that there needs to be optimi-zation of training systems to

allow the mechanization and the reduction of production costs. Mechanization of certain operations such as pruning and thinning through machines in European countries shows a significant savings in labor.

There were some upcom-ing research projects that Musacchi outlined in the pre-sentation. He said research on colored hail nets and whether or not the long-term benefits outweigh the costs as well as conducting research on root-

stocks and training systems. Other research being conduct-ed is the about the optimization of apple tree propagation and research on fall and summer pruning to control vigor and Psylla in the D’Anjou pear. A big research project is planned to be conducted, he said, inves-tigating a lethal canker disease in pears.


March 17 is the last day to buy or change all other spring-seeded multiple peril crop insurance (excluding wheat in counties with fall and spring planted types). It is also the last day to buy 2014

AGR-Lite insurance for new application/enroll-ment policies.

Contact your local MPCI agent (http://www3.rma.usda.gov/tools/agents/) for details.


With all plants and animals, there are factors that hinder the growth and development of a species, better known as pests.

WSU Professor and Ento-mologist Elizabeth Beers gave a presentation on the changes

in the management of Spotted Wing Drosophila and Campy-lomma at the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day, Jan. 20.

Camplyomma, also known as the mullein plant bug, is known as one of the biggest pests because it likes to lays its eggs on woody hosts such as apple and pear trees, according to Beers.

The way to tell if there is damage caused by Campy-lomma to an apple is if the crop has raised corky warts, moderate to severe deformity and russetting.

Beers has come up with a way to manage the Campy-lomma by doing a few differ-ent things. The first step in management is to determine if a damaging population is present. The tools available to prevent Campylomma are by sampling, pheromone trapping, phenology model and economic injury levels. Some tactics for managing the insect are to use mating disruption, biological control, cultural such as weed hosts or insect prey and pes-ticides.

The timing of the sprays for plants is key to preventing Campylomma. According to Beers, full to late bloom is op-timal. Some effective pesticides are Carzol and Neonicotinyls. Pre-bloom and bloom sprays have been more successful in preventing fruit damage. Petal fall sprays may fail to prevent much of the potential damage, even though they may kill the Campylomma.

“Petal fall is too late to pre-vent damage by Camplyomma,” Beers said. “Full to late bloom, however, has consistently, over the years, been the best time for preventing damage by Cam-plyomma.”

Biological control of Campy-lomma is tough because there are no reported natural en-emies, and because Camply-omma is a predator.

Spotted Wing Drosophila was the other pest that Beers talked about in her presenta-tion.

SWD is a vinegar or fruit fly that attacks ripening fruit as well as rotting fruit, according to WSU Extension experts. It was first detected in Califor-nia in 2008 and is considered a serious threat to crops such

Mirror photo by Matt BaideDr. Elizabeth Beers speaks during her presentation about Spotted Wing Drosophila and Campylomma management at the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day, Jan. 20.

State 4-H Fair board announces presentation topicsSubmitted by Tom Gwin, WA State 4-H Fair Manager

The Washington State 4-H Fair Board is pleased to an-nounce the following topics for the Commodity Presenta-tion Program for 2014: Apples,

Lamb, Mint, Tomatoes. We are also pleased to an-

nounce the following subjects for the Creative Kids Exhibit Program:

Creative Art Project – Duct Tape Creations.

Creative Outdoor Project –

Yard Art. Creative Culinary Project –

Quick Cooking Cookies. Creative Poetry Project –

“Fair Time”. Creative Photo Project –

Washington State Photos.

as cherries and peaches. SWD was first detected in Eastern Washington in 2010.

Beers presented that area-wide monitoring is being con-ducted, with SWD traps placed from Oroville to the Tri-Cities to monitor the insect. The traps were mostly placed in cherry orchards. Through testing, the team was able to narrow down when certain types of cherries

are most susceptible to SWD. “We are looking at an in-

vasive pest that is becoming established in our area,” Beers said.

Beers said that she hopes to have an action threshold with the SWD traps, meaning if a certain number of SWD are in the traps, then it is time to take action. Beers has been doing surveys in the area for four

years and hopes to transition the traps to the industry.

For more information on Campylomma or SWD, go to the WSU Extension website at county.wsu.edu/chelan-doug-las/pages/default and search for each insect.


Graphic courtesy of WSU Professor and Entomologist Elizabeth Beers

February 12/13, 2014 • Lake CheLan Mirror/The LeavenworTh eCho/CashMere vaLLey reCord/Quad CiTy heraLd C3

C4 Lake CheLan Mirror/The LeavenworTh eCho/CashMere vaLLey reCord/Quad CiTy heraLd • February 12/13, 2014

Traditional FacilityPeshastin 548-1700

Dedicated Organic FacilityWenatchee 662-5191


At the Lake Chelan Horticul-ture Day, Jan. 20, Tory Schmidt of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission intro-duced the apple pollen tube growth model (APTGM).

In 2002, APTGM began test-ing. Researchers Dr. Ross By-ers and Sue Wolf at Virginia Tech University were funded by the WTFRC to investigate pollination and potential thin-ning agents. It took six years, but the first year of WA field data was 2008, although the re-searchers at VTU were collect-ing field data in Va. before that. The following year saw the first field validation by Washington industry beta testers.

The APTGM predicts how long it takes for flowers of dif-ferent cultivars to be fertilized after they have been pollinated, based on ambient temperature. With the information, it helps inform crop load management decisions and helps the timing of chemical bloom thinners.

“We’ve been working with a lot of the same chemicals and the same technologies through the years, but now, at long last, we are ready to release a new model, statistical model, that can help inject a little bit more science to the art of chemical thinning,” Schmidt said.

The model was developed by putting trees in cold rooms, with the dwarfed root-bagged trees forced to bloom in a greenhouse. The trees were hand-pollinated under con-trolled conditions so the re-searches could control how much pollen was deposited on test flowers. The blossoms were collected at planned in-tervals and were analyzed for progression of pollen tubes.

The model has benefits, such as reducing the risk of over or under thinning crops. It can also help determine ap-propriate timings for chemical bloom thinning sprays and can improve predictability of fruit set. The model also facilitates logistical planning for spray crews during bloom and in-creases overall awareness of fruit set dynamics.

There are some things that the model can’t do, such as make up for previous crop management mistakes . I t doesn’t prevent frost, hail or equipment breakdowns, and it doesn’t guarantee ideal spray conditions. The APTGM also doesn’t directly inform post-bloom thinning decisions.

“This is a tool, but not a sil-ver bullet,” Schmidt said. “If

you use this model, it’s not go-ing to solve all your problems, but will hopefully help move you a little further towards having more predictable and more repeatable results with your chemical thinning pro-grams.”

Growers can use the pollen tube growth model along with the online resources provided by the WSU AgWeatherNet. Growers can use this model to

help determine when to apply sprays and keep comprehen-sive data on projected growth and the temperature during the day.

With the model, there are some limitations. The model assumes optimal bee and pol-len availability. There are no models for secondary or niche varieties. This model is new, so there are some unresolved questions about role of pol-

len source and normal use requires overly simplistic as-sumptions about efficacy of chemical thinners.

To find out if the model could work for you, Schmidt had some suggestions. He said that trying the model on a small block of the growing area first. He also recommended trying a dry run by following the model normally without spraying ac-cording to model timings.

Pollen tube growth mod-els for Red Delicious, Hon-eycrisp, and Granny Smith are still in development, but growers can find models for Gala, Fuji, Golden Delicious, and Cripps Pink now on the WSU AgWeatherNet website at weather.wsu.edu


Pollen tube growth model introduced at meeting

Graphic courtesy Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission

Mirror photo by Matt BaideTory Schmidt of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission speaks about the Apple Pollen Tube Growth Model at the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day, Jan. 20.

Ag agencies conduct listening sessions for specialty crop growersSubmitted by Chris Bieker, FSA

The U.S. Department of Agricul-ture (USDA) and the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) want to hear from Wash-ington’s specialty crop growers. In late February, the agencies will be conducting cooperative listen-ing sessions in Wenatchee and Mt. Vernon to gather input about the effectiveness of crop insurance and insurance-type programs available to producers.

“As the federal safety net for farm-ers and ranchers moves toward a re-liance on crop insurance and similar programs, we want to make sure the needs of Washington’s farmers and ranchers are being met,” said Farm Service Agency State Executive Di-

rector Judy Olson.The federal government sub-

sidizes crop insurance, which is offered through private crop insur-ance agents and is managed by USDA’s Risk Management Agency. The USDA Farm Service Agency provides production risk protection to farmers who grow crops for which insurance is unavailable. “Many of the state’s diverse crops are eligible for coverage under the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program or NAP,” explained Olson. “Fewer growers are currently participat-ing in this program than we would expect.”

“We have a great climate in Wash-ington that has helped create a robust and thriving agriculture in-dustry,” WSDA Director Bud Hover

said. “But just one weather disaster can devastate a ranch or farm. We want to hear from the ag community whether the tools in place to help them manage that r isk are meeting their needs.”

The first listen-ing session will take place at the Wash-ington State Univer-sity Research and Extension Center in Mt. Vernon on Feb. 20. The second session will be at the Port of Chelan Confluence Technol-ogy Center in Wenatchee on Feb. 24.

There is no cost to participate in the listening sessions.

The agencies are e n c o u r ag i n g a t -tendees to regis-ter which will help them prepare for the types of opera-tions that will be represented. Per-sons with disabili-t ies who require accommodations to attend or partici-pate in the listen-ing sessions should contact the Farm Service Agency at (509) 323-3000.

USDA and WSDA Specialty Crop Education and Listen-

ing Sessions:Thursday, Feb. 20, from 9:30 to 11

a.m.WSU Research and Extension

Center, 16650 State Route 536, Mount Vernon, WA

Registration: https://www.event-brite.com/e/specialty-crop-insur-ance-education-and-listening-ses-sions-tickets-8216468679

Monday, Feb, 24, from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

Port of Chelan Confluence Tech-nology Center, 285 Technology Cen-ter Way, Wenatchee, WA

Registration: https://www.event-brite.com/e/specialty-crop-insur-ance-education-and-listening-ses-sion-tickets-9407663575, Or call: (509) 323-3000.

“Many of the state’s diverse crops are eli-gible for coverage un-der the Non-Insured Crop Disaster As-sistance Program or NAP.”

--Judy OlsonFarm Service Agency

State Executive Director

From the publishers oF: lake Chelan mirror • the leavenworth eCho • Cashmere valley reCord • Quad City heraldFebruary 12/13, 2014

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Phone: (509) 689-2507 • Fax: (509) 587-3355

FsA advises producers to anticipate payment reductions due to mandated sequesterSubmitted by Isabel Benemelis FSA

In a statement released this past November, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding farmers and ranchers who participate in FSA programs to plan accordingly in FY2014 for automatic spending reductions known as seques-tration. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) mandates that federal agencies implement automatic, annual reductions to discretionary and mandatory spending limits. For man-datory programs, the sequestration rate for FY2014 is 7.2 percent. Accordingly, FSA is implementing sequestration for the following programs:

Dairy Indemnity Payment Program;Marketing Assistance Loans;Loan Deficiency Payments;Sugar Loans;Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program;Tobacco Transition Payment Program;2013 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payments;2013 Average Crop Revenue Election Program;2011 and 2012 Supplemental Revenue Assistance Pro-

gram;Storage, handling; andEconomic Adjustment Assistance for Upland Cotton.Conservation Reserve Program payments are specifically

exempt by statute from sequestration, thus these payments will not be reduced.

“These sequester percentages reflect current law esti-mates; however with the continuing budget uncertainty, Congress still may adjust the exact percentage reduction. Today’s announcement intends to help producers plan for the impact of sequestration cuts in FY2014,” said FSA Ad-ministrator Juan M. Garcia. “At this time, FSA is required to implement the sequester reductions. Due to the expiration of the Farm Bill on Sept. 30, FSA does not have the flexibility to cover these payment reductions in the same manner as in FY13. FSA will provide notification as early as practicable on the specific payment reductions. ”

For information about FSA programs, visit your county USDA Service Center or go to www.fsa.usda.gov/ .

Mirror photos by Matt Baide

Vendors greet orchardists at hort show

Workshop meets growing interest in ciders, tree fruitSubmitted by Lucas Patzek, Director of WSU Thurston County Extension

Renowned Washington state orchardist Gary Moulton will deliver an educational work-shop focused on establishing orchards and growing healthy tree fruit 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat-urday, April 6, at Washington State University Thurston County Extension, 5033 Har-rison Ave. NW, Olympia.

Participants interested in cider production or growing ap-ples, pears, cherries and other tree fruit will learn about root-stock and cultivar selection, orchard layout development, soil fertility management and integrated pest management. Moulton, who has decades of experience in fruit horticulture and management, will also cover irrigation system setup, thinning and pruning tech-niques and harvest methods.

Registration costs $70 and includes the workshop, morn-ing refreshments and lunch. Register onl ine at http : / /www.brownpapertickets.com/

event/357848.The workshop is open to all,

but geared toward individuals looking to establish commer-cial tree fruit operations and fruit processors wishing to learn more about the needs and challenges of tree fruit growers in western Washington, said Lucas Patzek, director of WSU Thurston County Extension.

“The workshop was orga-nized, in part, to respond to a growing interest in apple and pear hard ciders,” Patzek said. “There are 10 commercial cideries in Washington state, six of which are located west of the Cascades.”

Moulton will take partici-pants through a tasting of cider varietals to demonstrate how variety can impact flavor and mouthfeel, among other sensory qualities.

WSU Thurston County Exten-sion, Thurston Conservation District and the South Sound Fruit Society are workshop sponsors. Learn more about WSU’s tree fruit research and extension at http://www.tfrec.wsu.edu/

In the photo at right, Linda (left) and Kyle

Batch sit at the Crowder Horticultural Services

table at the Chelan Horticulture day on

Jan. 20. Below, Zach Steele of Wilbur-Ellis and Natividad Rubio of Rubio’s Produce

in Brewster sit at the Wilbur-Ellis booth at

the Lake Chelan Horticulture Day,

Jan. 20.

Agricultural Act of 2014 marks a new era for Farm & Food PolicySubmitted by Tamara HintonHouse Committee on Agriculture

WASHINGTON – Chairman Frank Lucas issued the following statement last Friday, Feb. 7, after President Obama signed the Agricultural Act of 2014 into law.

"The amazing reality about farm bills is that they reflect the times in which we live. They are reviewed, written, debated, and reauthorized nearly every five years. Today our concerns are rightly placed on reducing the size and cost of the federal government. With the president signing the Agricultural Act of 2014 into law, we mark a new era of farm and food policy that values saving money, reforming or repealing government programs, and yet still providing an effective safety net

for the production of our national food supply and for those Americans who are struggling.

“I am pleased we have a new farm bill in place to provide certainty for the next five years to America’s farmers, ranchers, and consumers, and I appreciate the efforts of everyone who helped make it possible,” said Chairman Frank Lucas.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the conference report on January 29 by a vote of 251-166. The U.S. Senate passed it on February 4 with 68-32 vote.

Farm Policy Reforms: The Agricultural Act of 2014 includes reduction to farm policy spending in history by improving agricultural programs; Repeals Direct Pay-ments and limits producers to risk man-agement tools that offer protection when

they suffer significant losses; Limits on payments are reduced, eligibility rules are tightened and means tests are streamlined to make farm programs more accountable; Strengthens crop insurance; Offers pro-ducers a new, voluntary, margin protection program; and Supports small businesses and beginning farmers and ranchers with training and access to capital.

The Agricultural Act of 2014 also makes the first reforms to the food stamp pro-gram since the welfare reforms of 1996 while maintaining critical food assistance to families in need.

Additionally, the Agricultural Act of 2014 includes multiple regulatory relief provisions benefitting agricultural and forestry industries by consolidating 23 conservation programs into 13.

D2 Lake CheLan Mirror/The LeavenworTh eCho/CashMere vaLLey reCord/Quad CiTy heraLd • February 12/13, 2014

“One of my goals going forward is keeping this the kind of business where people want to stay.”By M.T. MillerWBJ Reporter

Bob Mast, who became the newest president of Columbia Marketing International in April of this year, hails not from the Northwest but from Phoenix, Ariz.

Directly responsible for marketing the agricultural supply of Northwest fruit to the rest of the world, Mast spent 20 years previous to CMI on the other side of the fence, working in retail for the Kroger Company, which owns Fred Meyer. He started out bagging groceries, and worked produce for 18 years.

M a st h a s a lways b e e n passionate about produce, and after 20 years at Kroger, he was given two options: move to corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, or come out to the Northwest to work for CMI. Mast chose the latter. He hasn’t looked back.

Mast began his career with CMI as director of marketing. When Glady Bellamy, a founder and then-president of CMI, died in 2010, the company’s leaders spent three years searching for a new president, and when all was said and done, Mast was offered the position.

CMI is owned by its growers and packing houses, specifically McDougall and Sons, Columbia Fruit, Highland Fruit and Double Diamond Fruit. CMI works with other growers as well, but its primary job is to market the fruit of its parent growers.

The Wenatchee Business Journal sat down to speak with Mast about the current state of the tree fruit industry, the challenges of marketing fruit in a global economy, and how CMI is looking forward to the future.

Wenatchee Business Journal: You took over for Glady Bellamy, who was president for over 20 years. Tell me about that transition of leadership.

Bob Mast: Glady passed suddenly in October 2010.

He was a big name in the industry. His nickname was the Prince of the Industry, because he was such an honest

gentleman who had extreme integrity, a guy that everybody in the industry liked. You won’t find a person who’ll say a bad thing about Glady. He truly cared about people and the industry. A fantastic mentor. He was a big part of my coming to CMI and sticking it out.

Glady, I would say, is one of the key reasons I stayed around and toughed it out. It was a challenge to do that, but Glady was very, very important to CMI.

O u r m a n ag e m e n t we n t through about three years in which a number of our managers stepped up before we found new leadership. It’s a real tribute to our staff that in those years CMI never missed a beat.

The CMI ownership group came to me several months back, talked about having a true leader. I was very honored to take that role. Very, very honored. Glady and I had some discussions on that, the potential of one day mentoring me to take over for him. It was a very distinguished honor.

It’s a real close-knit family environment around here. There’s been very little turnover. That’s one of my goals going forward, keeping this the kind of business where people want to stay.

WBJ: What part of Bellamy’s legacy do you hope to continue?

Mast: First and foremost is the integrity and the honesty he brought to the position. CMI is known throughout the industry for being straight shooters. We will continue to do that. If you ask a straight question you’ll get a straight answer. We will always live up to looking someone in the eye and giving them a straight answer.

Glady always cared about the growers, and I do as well. I always wanted to become a grower to know all the challenges growers face. You want to know about all the risk and all that goes into bringing the product from farm to fork.

That’s what I plan to continue on in this position. True caring for growers, owners and also the employees.

WBJ: What parts did you want to change?

Mast: You know, there’s always little tweaks when a new leader comes in, new adaptations that they want to do. There’s a little bit of structure that’s being brought to the organization. That’s a fine line. You want to do that without changing the culture.

We’re bringing a little bit more structure. I want to bring some clear cut goals and expectations. That’s one thing, and continued growth, continuing on with our partnerships and forging new

relationships as the size of the manifest grows.

WBJ: How has the recession affected your industry?

Mast: We’ve been super fortunate. Even during recession down times people continue to eat fruit. We have forged through the recession quite well. Last season I think we obtained record FOBs for the industry. Some things that have helped with that have been the Honey Crisp, which has really helped to shatter glass ceilings.

The size of the crop and the amount of markets we have to manage are as much of a challenge as the recession has been.

WBJ: What are the specific challenges to managing a large crop?

Mast: There are lots of things. Take export markets. There are factors like value of currency, food safety protocols in places like the UK. They’ve put regulations on fruit and detection devices. You have trade barriers in certain countries. China is a country we can’t go into with fruit right now. Export markets can have a huge impact on the size of the crop, as well as our ability to store and keep fruit from going bad.

WBJ: How do you build relationships with growers?

Mast: We’ve got yearly grower

meetings that we have where we update growers and try to keep them as updated as we can on market trends, what retailers are looking for. Each of our packing houses has a group of field staff workers that go out to meeting with growers every week. We try to keep our field staff up to date so as to keep our growers aware of what we’re seeing. We try to get out with the growers ourselves once in a while, walk and talk. We try to get retailers in front of growers.

WBJ: Why should a grower work with CMI?

Mast: CMI’s going to shoot straight with a grower. We’re not going to tell a grower something we think they want to hear. We’re going to tell them the truth. We’re going to tell them

what’s hot in the market, what’s hot with consumers. We tend to like to under promise and over deliver. That’s our motto.

WBJ: What new markets have you broken into this year?

Mast: India is an expanding market for a lot of different marketers throughout the industry. There are definitely markets that are growing. We’re constantly looking for new markets around the world.

WBJ: Where’s the next big market?

Mast: If we ever do get into China, there’s a lot of thought that that could take a five to eight percent of the manifest from the industry. That could potentially be a big market if it ever gets open. India and Dubai are growing. Europe does okay,

but that’s predicated on the size of their crop and if they ever lighten up on the protocols. Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, we’re always trying to grow our business there.

WBJ: Who’s going to be making money off this year’s crop?

Mast: The growers who haven’t been affected by weather. We’ve had some interesting weather issues in the last three years with frost, hail. Growers who are doing everything they can to hit the size parameter. Apples in the 64 to 100 count range are the most sought after. Growers who get a good size should do well. Growers who use the color up materials should see better return. We had a lot of heat that hampered the color efforts this year. Really, growers that are growing fruit in that premium size range that have pretty good color should do really well.

WBJ: How is this year’s crop shaping up compared to last year?

Mast: Our crop in Washington state is actually down, but North American crop overall is larger than it was last year. Our largest ever. The East is up. Mexico is up. We’re down here, but there’s pressure on us because of the overall larger manifest for the industry.

WBJ: Why the smaller crop?Mast: Some of it could be

weather. Certain varieties are down this season. We had a large fruit set last year, and sometimes that brings on a lighter fruit set the next year. But the size of the fruit is good this year. It’s quite a bit larger this year.

WBJ: What are your strategies for growing this business?

Mast: We obviously look at what we can do that’s different from our competition. We’re blessed in having certain proprietary apples that set us apart. We have an import program on apples and pears, which we did to enhance our program. Certain customers want an import program, and we’ve been able to keep the business flowing through CMI by offering that. We’re looking at how those import programs can be adapted and modified, since we’ve got more and more domestic fruit coming on. We’re looking at the imported pears, since the pears here aren’t growing.

We’ve done a lot of investment at the orchard level. We’re looking at new facility investments, like our new facility up at Baker Flats. We’re looking at new cold storage that we are building.

WBJ: What are the keys to success in this industry?

Mast: Number one is to listen.

See MAST on Page D4

A conversation with ... Columbia Marketing International President Bob Mast

Photo courtesy CMIAs the new president of Columbia Marketing International, Bob Mast takes his lead from the model set by Glady Bellamy, the co-founder and previous president who died unexpectedly in 2010. The fruit marketing firm weathered that loss and the recession and is now poised to grow.

THE PROFILEBob MastAge: 47Title: President of Columbia Marketing International, a

Wenatchee-based sales and marketing company for six growing and packing entities in Washington, dealing in apples, pears, cherries and organics. The company was founded in 1989 with partners Glady Bellamy, Nick Buak, McDougall & Sons and Columbia Fruit Packers.

Hometown: Phoenix, Ariz.Education: Bachelor’s degree in management from Arizona

State UniversityCareer: Produce marketingFamily: Mast has been married 25 years to his wife, Sabrina.

They have a daughter, Hailey, age 7.

February 12/13, 2014 • Lake CheLan Mirror/The LeavenworTh eCho/CashMere vaLLey reCord/Quad CiTy heraLd D3

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“There’s pressure everywhere to buy local, but the bottom line is the Northwest grows the best pre-mium tree fruit in the world.”

--Bob Mast Columbia Marketing

International

To look and listen, not only to what retailers are saying but what consumers are saying. If you monitor category data and you talk to consumers, you stand in a store and watch buying behaviors, you can watch out for trends that are coming. You can adapt and be flexible. Like pouch bags. We’re starting to pack a lot of pouch bags now. That’s not something that necessarily is production friendly at the packing house, but it’s something that helps us extract more value for certain parts of the manifest.

WBJ: How do you pitch local produce to other markets?

Mast : There ’s pressure everywhere to buy local, but the bottom line is the Northwest grows the best premium tree fruit in the world. The micro climate we have here, we don’t have the moisture and the pests. We don’t have to apply as many chemicals. We have the rich soil, a fairly unlimited amount of water with the Columbia River. Cool evenings. We grow excellent premium fruit, and we play up on that.

WBJ: Where do you see room for improvement?

Mast: One of the keys that we have is the consolidation and uniformity of food safety requirements. We’ve got retailers coming at us from all sides with different food safety protocols, different expectations, and there’s a lot of audits. There’s a lot of audit fatigue. We need some unification in the inspection process and the protocols.

WBJ: Have growers been progressive on that issue?

Mast: I think growers have done a pretty darn good job of trying to meet standards, but it’s not like there’s one set standard out there that everyone’s driving towards. You may drive real fast down one direction to meet one expectation, only to have someone come out of right field telling them to go in a completely different way.

WBJ: What’s the hardest sell you ever made?

Mast: Ice to an Eskimo. That’s a tough one. Every sale that you make is somewhat of a challenge. If you believe in what you’re selling - and I do - it’s not necessarily a hard sell. Some of our varieties

are a harder sell, since we have so many new varieties coming at retailers and they have a limited shelf space. One of the hard sells that we have to make is to growers on food safety.

Some of the things that we have to do for food safety standpoint don’t make a lot of common sense, and that makes it a hard sell to growers. The standards and expectations are made for all growers, row crops and tree growers both, and sometimes what makes sense for one grower doesn’t make much sense for the other.

WBJ: Are state and federal officials responsible for those standards well informed about the industry?

Mast: I think they’re becoming more informed. That’s something t h a t w e frequently try to do. We try to educate them. We’re always interested in having them c o m e o u t and tour an orchard, see what’s going o n , w h a t ’ s feasible, what’s necessary and what isn’t. We certainly want to provide a safe product for the consumer, but to some degree some things don’t make sense. Wearing hairnets to pack fruit, for example. Seems like a good idea, but then every consumer who walks through the store and handles the fruit, they’re not wearing hairnets. Some things you have to look at with one eye open.

WBJ: What are you most proud of?

Mast: I’m very proud of my family. I’ve always had a tight-knit, close family. My parents instilled the importance of family in me in a very young age. My daughter. My wife.

I’m proud of the fact that three years ago CMI faced a tragic event with the passing of Glady and how we didn’t miss a beat. I think our customers will tell you that.

WBJ: What are your goals for the coming year?

Mast: Grow our CMI manifest. I

want to continue with grow. I want to bring the new facility at Baker Flats into the mix. We’ve got new staff on board, a new VP in marketing. [Steve Lutz joined CMI in September as vice president of marketing. He is a past president and CEO of the Washington Apple Commission who left in 2000 to co-found Nielsen Perishables Group, a Chicago-based marketing and consulting firm] We want to bring the management team in different markets as a very cohesive unit with direction and leadership.

Fostering the relationships between CMI ownership and growers. Basically always looking to improve the reputation of CMI in the industry and amongst the retail partners.

WBJ: What gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning?

Mast: Every day’s different. T h a t ’ s t h e t h i n g ab o u t the produce business. Just about the time y o u t h i n k you’ve got it f i g u r e d o u t there’s a curve ahead.

I love the people I work with and the industry I work

in. I’m excited to come to work and face the challenges every day.

WBJ: If you could change one thing about this business, what would you change?

Mast: If there were one thing, and this is personal to me, I think it’s important to walk in somebody else’s shoes. Having worked the retail side, and now working on the supplier side, if I went back to the retail side now I’d understand better the nuances of how things work in supply. So if there’s one thing I could change, I’d have the retailers come work on this side of the business for a while, and the suppliers go work on the other end for a while. Then everyone would understand each other’s businesses more, and I think that’s a win-win situation.

WBJ: What’s the greatest chal lenge you face going forward?

Mast: The same challenge that every other organization faces: the larger crops we have coming and successfully navigating through the manifest in a profitable manner for the growers.

We’ve got some large crops coming, and we need to find new markets. We have to find new ways of growing consumption with youth. Consumption of fruit and vegetables in the US is not nearly as high as we’d like it to be. It’s as high as other places in the world, Europe, Canada, but not as high as we want. That’s one of our challenges, to make our product more compelling to the consumer.

WBJ: How strong is the agricultural industry in the Wenatchee Valley?

Mast: I think it’s pretty strong. Based on the amount of new fruit that’s been planted, new trees going in. You drive around the state and see the amount of nursery trees that are out there, we have a pretty healthy industry at this time.

WBJ: How has CMI adapted to new technology?

Mast: We’re certainly always investigating new technologies and ways to be efficient. We’ve invested in new apple lines, new cherry lines. We like to be on the cutting edge, but there’s a caution to that. Items like these new cherry lines with optical sorting. Everyone’s got them and everyone’s tweaking them. You don’t want to wait too long to get in on a new technology if it makes sense, but your payback isn’t always very rapid.

If the payback isn’t immediate, a decision has to be made about whether the time is right to jump in or if you should wait for a more optimal time.

WBJ: How is the industry changing?

Mast: There’s increased competition for shelf space with all the new varieties. Increased competition from Midwest and the East, because smaller amount of their product is going towards processing. They’re bringing a lot of fruit into the fresh market. Global economics always play a part in how much fruit we export. The weakness of the dollar and the impact that plays is a big factor.

Going forward with spot

markets and wholesale markets aren’t going to be as viable markets to extract the maximum FOBs for your product. Relationships with growers and committed volume are going to be more and more important as we go forward.

WBJ: What effect will the Farm Bill have on the industry?

Mast: When it comes to labor, we’re doing a lot of H-2A deals right now. H-2A is super important to the industry to get the crop off the trees. We do a lot of farm worker housing. We

need regulation reform with immigration. It’s so important to make sure you have a work force there to get the fruit off in a timely manner, to get it to the pack houses and the storage facilities. If you don’t get the fruit off at the optimal time, it’s a big problem.

WBJ: Final question. Are you a pancake man or a waffle guy?

Mast: Me? I like fresh fruit.

Editors Note: Reprinted from the October 2013 Wenatchee Business Journal

ContinueD from Page D3

MAST : There’s increased competition for shelf space with all the new varieties.D4 Lake CheLan Mirror/The LeavenworTh eCho/CashMere vaLLey reCord/Quad CiTy heraLd • February 12/13, 2014