Fruit Growers News

An Energetic Resolution for the Coming Year

It’s a great year to make New Year’s resolutions. Elections are coming this fall, and from the amount and earliness of the political activity, everybody seems to be getting primed to cast a few important votes come November. It’s like having almost a whole year to decide what your resolutions are going to be. I take resolutions seriously. I believe individual decisions, carefully thought out and implemented, can have larger effects because they become models for the actions of others. While I intend to cast my votes carefully this fall, I’m not waiting to get started. My resolution for this year is to seriously begin to face up to $100-a-barrel oil and find ways to reduce its effects on my pocketbook and my environment. I’ve always thought the environment is more important than my pocketbook, and I am concerned about the role I’ve played over the years in…  » Read more

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Labor Audit a Nightmare Scenario for Farm Market

Abigail Jacobson didn’t want to spread doom and gloom, but she had a story to tell about Friday the 13th that would scare the pants off any farm marketer. Jacobson’s business, Westview Orchards & Cider Mill in Romeo, Mich., was audited by the U.S. Department of Labor last July 13 – a Friday. The circumstances couldn’t have been much worse: An unannounced inspection in the middle of harvest. Needless to say, Jacobson, her family and her employees were unprepared for the ordeal they were about to go through. And the scariest thing? Such a nightmare scenario could happen to any farm market at any time – so they’d better be prepared. Jacobson conveyed that message in December, during a farm marketing session at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO in Grand Rapids, Mich. She shared the podium with Craig Anderson, manager of Michigan Farm Bureau’s…  » Read more

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Great Lakes Water Compact Still Spurs Controversy

Michigan – and the other seven states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes Basin – is either undertaking one of the greatest environmental protection and conservation measures in the history of the world, or participating in one of the biggest scare-driven boondoggles of all time. You could choose your side during a contentious half-day session at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO in Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. 6. The day before, the Michigan Legislature had moved another step toward a historic measure, with committees passing the critical bills needed to solidify the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. It was pretty well conceded that the Michigan Legislature would pass the measure and the governor would sign it. Two other states, Minnesota and Illinois, and the two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, have already done so. In Indiana and Pennsylvania, lawmakers are considering…  » Read more

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Honeycrisp patent expiration not expected to change sales

The Honeycrisp apple’s U.S. patent protection is scheduled to expire in November. What does that mean for the apple industry? Not much, according to two nursery vice presidents and an apple breeder. The Honeycrisp’s patent holder, the University of Minnesota (UM), will lose some revenue, but it won’t be the end of the world. Nurseries don’t expect sales to go up, even though growers will no longer be paying a royalty fee. “Growers typically don’t make decisions based on the extra costs of a patented variety,” said Phil Baugher, marketing vice president for Adams County Nursery in Pennsylvania. “If the value of the fruit decreases in the marketplace, the demand for trees will decrease. That’s always the case.” A grower would be foolish to wait for a patent to expire before planting a variety like Honeycrisp, which has been the No. 1 seller for Adams County Nursery for…  » Read more

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