December 2017

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Grower of the Year

Featured stories covering the Good Fruit Grower Grower of the Year in this issue.

Click here to view a PDF version of this issue.

Computer vision systems can count apples and provide a new perspective on crop load

Margaret McCoy, a Washington State University graduate student studying spray technologies, shows a collection of used, rusted disc-core nozzles, the kind often found in a growers’ shop. (Shannon Dininny/Good Fruit Grower)

Yes, your spray nozzles need to be replaced on a regular basis.

Beall and Carpenter discovered, cleared and replanted Dufour’s original terraces on the slope overlooking the Kentucky River. (By Leslie Mertz)

Nation’s oldest commercial winery back in operation in Kentucky

A new tree insurance program in development aims to help growers protect their investment in orchards, since costs have risen dramatically with high-density systems like this V-trellis planting in Kittitas County, Washington. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Insurance beyond apples

Jeff and Nita Send are proud of this sign that stands in front of their orchard, Cherry Lane Farms, in northwestern Lower Michigan. It signifies that the farm has voluntarily met a set of standards set by the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) in its cropping and farmstead systems, which together focus on such farming aspects as irrigation and water use, soil conservation, safe handling of fuels and proper storage of chemicals. (By Leslie Mertz)

Verification program lets growers show off their stewardship

Bing harvest at the Doornink Fruit Ranch in Wapato, Washington, in June. (Kate Prengaman/Good Fruit Grower)

Season’s smaller Bings highlight need for better crop load management tools

Clean Plant Center Northwest director Scott Harper is surrounded by fruit trees at the Prosser, Washington, center in August. The trees are being grown and tested for viruses and diseases before they can be considered clean and released to growers. Harper says many of the center’s facilities are at or beyond capacity to process the large amount of plant material they receive each year. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

For plants, it’s not easy being clean

Learning Cosmic lessons

Protecting intellectual property

Grower Andrew Sundquist, left, and Ken Breen, scientist for Plant and Food Research New Zealand, discuss the data from a research trial into the effectiveness of artificial spur extinction in a Jazz apple block near Selah, Washington, in June. (Shannon Dininny/Good Fruit Grower)

New idea for controlling crop load

Feds extending FSMA sampling deadlines

Peter Zeihan gave the keynote Betjer Address during the 2015 Washington hort show. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Register for the 75th annual Cherry Institute

Washington state capitol building in Olympia, Washington on February 24, 2011. (Courtesy Washington State Department of Transportation)

DeVaney: Expectations from Olympia

A load of honeybees arrives from California in April 2017 at Olson Orchards in Selah, Washington, on April 13, 2017. Beekeepers worry that new federal rules mandating the use of electronic logging devices taking effect this month will make hauling bees harder and more expensive. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Hive hauling worries

Growers should prepare their soil well before planting trees. This will encourage young trees to grow quickly for the first three years and establish root systems that are in balance with their tops (canopies). (Courtesy Bas van den Ende)

Preparing soil before planting is key to successful root growth

How to give away fruit

Omeg stands in one of his blocks of cherries — he owns 330 acres in the northern Oregon hills east of the Cascade Mountains. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

An Oregon trailblazer: 2017 Grower of the Year

Omeg talks with other growers about his "mow and blow" mulching results during an Oregon State University soils workshop in March 2017. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

A grower with industry influence: 2017 Grower of the Year

Mike Omeg spent two years planning this 25-acre trellis system. He doesn’t expect to recoup his costs for at least five more years. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Omeginsanity: 2017 Grower of the Year

Melba Salazar-Gutierrez of Washington State University speaks about practical use of AgWeatherNet in orchards during one of the Spanish speaking sessions at the annual meeting of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Motivation, worker protection among topics for Spanish sessions: Annual Meeting Preview

With constant changes, how can growers adapt? Annual Meeting Preview