Equipment

Northwest pear estimate down from 2013 record

This year’s Northwest pear crop won’t be a record-breaker like last year’s, but growers were expecting quality fruit. That was the assessment in early June, when Pear Bureau Northwest (PBN) projected a fresh-market crop of... more »

Obama prods Congress on immigration reform

President Barack Obama is no longer relying on Congress to fix America’s “broken” immigration system. Starting today, he’s doing as much as he can on his own, directing federal agencies to move as many resources... more »

Guesstimate confirms fruit crops survived winter’s hit

The brutal polar vortex that struck much of the country this past winter, including the Midwest, caused enough damage to curb hopes for a second consecutive bumper crop in most areas, but overall predictions were... more »

Northwest pear estimate down from last year’s record

This year’s Northwest pear crop won’t be a record-breaker like last year’s, but growers were expecting quality fruit.That was the assessment in early June, when Pear Bureau Northwest (PBN) projected a fresh-market crop of 18.7... more »

Strawberries turn into long-term endeavor

When Karma and Jim Lee started growing strawberries 17 years ago, they planted just the Chandler variety. Camarosa started getting more popular, however, so they planted that variety for their pre-pick customers. But u-pick customers... more »

Buyers cautioned in wake of BEI woes

BEI International, a South Haven, Michigan, agriculture equipment supplier that went defunct in April, left several farmers throughout the country without their promised harvesting equipment and parts – and little chance of recouping their thousands... more »