Dec 30, 2014

Washington fruit unit hits the ground running

Jon DeVaney knows he is the go-to person, now that the merger of four Washington state fruit industry associations is officially in place.

DeVaney, who has an extensive background in legislative affairs, is just fine with that.

“They now know who to go to and demand accountability,” DeVaney said.

Having served as the executive director of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association (YVGSA) since 2009, DeVaney was named president of the newly formed Washington State Tree Fruit Association (WSTFA), effective Sept. 1.

The new association represents a merger of four industry organizations in Washington state: YVGSA, Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association, Washington State Horticultural Association and Washington Growers Clearing House Association.

The new association will maintain offices and staff in Yakima and Wenatchee.

WSTFA received its final endorsement in December, as the Washington State Horticultural Association (WSHA) held its 110th and final annual meeting in Kennewick, Washington. The Kennewick site marked the first time the event has rotated away from Yakima or Wenatchee, and the new WSTFA governing board is likely to keep the Tri-Cities in the mix going forward. The 2015 convention will be held in Yakima and will be called the Washington State Tree Fruit Association Annual Meeting.

“The merger was completed to provide better, more efficient services to our dues-paying members, and lower our overall cost overhead for our association infrastructure,” DeVaney said. “It’s something everyone on the farm has to do every day, and it’s something they expect, frankly, of the industry associations they pay dues to.”

DeVaney has an extensive history in agriculture. He was a key staffer to Washington Congressman Doc Hastings and was appointed by the Bush administration as the Washington state director for USDA’s rural development program. During 2002-03, he served as director of legislative and regulatory affairs for the Northwest Horticultural Council.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and also holds a master's degree from Georgetown University. The DeVaney family resides in Yakima.

DeVaney becomes the point person for the organization as it deals with issues impacting the state’s tree fruit industry, in and outside of government circles.

“It really clarifies who they need to go to to ask questions in our state capitol,” DeVaney said. “We’ll be able to give (state government officials) one simple, clear answer on what the industry’s position is, rather than having to coordinate responses with multiple organizations.

“Our Legislature moves very quickly, they tend to have short sessions – just a couple of months at a sitting,” DeVaney said. “They move legislation through very quickly. We didn’t always have time to get every member of every board of these multiple organizations together to provide input.”

DeVaney stressed that economies of scale brought about changes in the structure of Washington’s fruit industry. While there were 27,000 members of WSHA in 1910, that number grew to 44,000 just 20 years later. Its membership had dwindled in recent years to approximately 3,000. The dynamics of data collection and management services of the other three organizations formed since then also changed.

“They were establishing organizations right and left to serve a rapidly growing industry,” DeVaney said. “We’re still growing (as an industry), but the number of participants has changed drastically.”

The new association’s permanent board of trustees will have 13 positions: five seats for independent growers, five seats for packer/marketers, two seats for “at large” growers and one seat for a marketer. Trustees will serve three-year terms, no more than three terms consecutively (terms will be staggered during the first election to start the rotation), according to the draft proposal.

The four organizations officially announced the merger proposal in December 2013, during the annual hort meeting. Up to that point, they’d been in formal discussions for about a year.

A potential merger had been discussed on and off for the last couple of decades, but recent consolidation in Washington’s tree fruit industry brought the possibility to the forefront.

Before the announcement, the four organizations formed a task force to study a potential merger. The task force hired a consultant who interviewed growers, politicians and economists involved in the industry. Based on those interviews, the consultant found that the major needs of the industry were for timely and accurate reporting of data, good educational programs and strong legislative and regulatory representation,

DeVaney credited West Mathison, president of Stemilt Growers and member of the transitional board, for helping bring the merger to fruition.

“All the grower and member votes we’ve had have been really strongly in favor of this,” DeVaney said. “There’s never unanimity, nor could you expect there to be. There’s generally strong support and acceptance. Not everyone is necessarily happy the conditions have changed. We’re streamlining – not one every likes (to reduce) staff to cut costs necessarily. I think there’s a broad recognition this needs to be done and it’s in the best interest of the industry.”

DeVaney said the organization’s staff has been reduced from 13 to eight full-time employees. That doesn’t include the recent appointment of Ranie Haas as director of regulatory and industry affairs. She will focus on how the various state agencies are implementing regulations that impact the tree fruit industry.

WSTFA’s annual budget will be $1.5 million, which is about $250,000 less than the combined budgets of the organizations it is replacing.

“Most of the benefit of those reductions accrue to growers,” DeVaney said. “They’re just going to have the payment that the packer makes. Any grower with fruit that goes there is eligible. One of the key goals of the task force was to reduce the direct cost of growers to participate.”

He said WSTFA would be funded by dues of 0.75 cents per 40-pound-equivalent box on apples, pears, cherries and soft fruit. Packers will remit the dues directly to the association. Growers will not be able to opt out of paying dues, though they can ask to be removed from the mailing list.

Steve Zediker, WSHA board president, said the merger came down to a simple need – to bring the industry together for the greater good.

“This convention marks the completion of that idea,” he said. “These four associations will become one, now representing our industry with one strong, clear, concise voice. Though we don’t like frequent change, we must adapt to keep pace. You want possible solutions to the challenges you face – you’re not satisfied with the status quo. Ultimately, this will improve the quality of life for your institution, your business.”

Awards highlight final WSHA event

A record number of participants took part in the 110th Annual Meeting of the Washington State Horticultural Association (WSHA) in Wenatchee, Washington in early December.

This year’s convention, the final one to be held under the WSHA banner following the formation of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, attracted more than 1,600 attendees.

The WSHA awards banquet had a record attendance of 400, nearly 100 more than in 2014. The banquet was the setting for recognition of individuals who have contributed to the tree fruit industry.

The Silver Apple Award was given to the late Jerry Haak. Haak was a speaker at the 2013 convention in Wenatchee. He died shortly following the convention. His wife was present to receive the award in his honor.

The Silver Pear award was given to Ray Schmitten, advocate of the pear industry, past pear session manager and grower in Cashmere, Washington.

Jose Ramirez, current WSHA vice president and horticulturist at Stein-Manzana Orchards of Royal City, Washington, received the Latino Leadership award.

Tim Smith was presented with the inaugural Washington Tree Fruit Distinguished Service Award. This award recognized Smith’s significant contributions to the tree fruit industry over an extended period of time. Smith retired this past summer from his long career as regional tree fruit Extension specialist for Washington State University.

– Gary Pullano