Jan 10, 2011

50 Years of FGN

Fruit Growers News is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and after looking through five decades of old issues, I am amazed at how much the fruit industry has changed – and at the same time, how much has stayed the same.

While the varieties, rootstocks and machinery used in fruit production may have changed, growers are still dealing with layer on top of layer of government regulations; finding enough adequate, legal workers; increased costs of production; and being price takers in a market that demands higher-quality fruit each year. Who would have thought we needed a law called “Right to Farm?”

They would have thrown me in the loony bin if I had written a column in the 1960s looking ahead to 2010 and predicting:

• Your orchard will look like a vineyard
• You will be able to trace food from the plate all the way back to your orchard block
• You will be able to plant trees in straighter lines using a contraption that “talks” to satellites in space and drives your tractor for you
• To control codling moth, growers will put twist ties in trees containing so much lady codling moth perfume that it confuses the males and they don’t mate
• Growers will memorize an alphabet soup that includes GAP, HACCP, WPS and IPM – to name just a few
• You will have to join a club to grow certain varieties
• Your apples will go over a packing line where “laser beams” will sort them by color, size and defects

Looking back
Looking through 50 years of old issues was fun and enlightening, especially the old photos. There are some major events that have shaped our industry over the past five decades, and below is a list of some of the more important ones.

• In the 1970s, United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez was trying to unionize farm workers; at its peak UFW had 50,000 members.
• In the late 1970s, the Carter administration cut all federal funding to farm mechanization projects because, “We will not put money into research where its major effect will be to replace an adequate and willing workforce with machines,” said Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland.
• The 1996 Food Quality Protection Act passed and all crop protection products had to go through a re-registration process, which led to some lower uses and cancelations of products and started to limit the use of organophosphates.
• The largest outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 in unpasteurized apple cider occurred in October 1996, which ultimately affected 66 people and resulted in the death of one person. This led to new, stricter food safety rules for the processing of cider.
• In the early 1990s, EPA passed stricter Worker Protection Standards. This included stricter re-entry rules and the posting of warning signs around treated fields.
• In 1999, U.S. apple growers filed an anti-dumping suit against cheap Chinese apple juice concentrate imports. They won in early 2000, bringing fair prices back to the market.
• In 2003, the Washington Apple Commission decided to sue itself to reaffirm its authority to collect assessments from growers, which funded a $20 million marketing program. Agricultural marketing and promotional programs funded by mandatory assessment were being attacked in the late 1990s for violating free speech, so WAC thought it was doing a preemptive strike. Unfortunately, a U.S. judge ruled WAC was unconstitutional and had to be shut down. This prompted similar groups to change their structure so they wouldn’t be targeted.
• In the past 10 years food safety has stolen the stage, with more focus being put on Good Agricultural Practices, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points and traceability.

After reading this, you may wonder how the fruit industry has survived all of these challenges. Growing up in and around this industry I can tell you my opinion: It’s because of the visionary leadership, strong organizations, research institutions, Extension programs and industry suppliers that have all worked together to come up with solutions. And in the end, no one will ever beat the work ethic and ingenuity of the American fruit grower!

P.S. Each month for the next year, we will devote several pages in each issue to look back on the changes in the industry. If you have any photos or stories to tell, e-mail or call us and we will be happy to include them in our special 50th anniversary pages.

—Matt McCallum, Publisher