December 2025

Grower of the Year and Convention Special

Featured stories about the Good Fruit Growers of the Year, the Washington State Tree Fruit Association Annual meeting and NW Hort Expo, the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO — and more — in this issue.

December 2025 — Digital Issue

In his Summerland, British Columbia, orchard in July, grower Steve Brown talks about the advantages smaller growers have when weathering a downturn by relying on sweat equity. With all the uncertainty in the apple market right now, he considers his orchard to be in “maintenance mode after years of always replanting and grafting,” he said. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Growers with a not-so-big advantage

In Oregon’s Columbia Gorge, Tim Hudson of Mosier Creek Orchards grows this 50-year-old hilltop block of Royal Ann cherries specifically for processing, viewing it as an oasis of consistency amid the boom-or-bust cycles of the fresh market. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

A reliable process for cherry growers

Empty spaces in the vineyards at Gray Monk Estate Winery in Lake Country, British Columbia, shown in July 2025, indicate lingering effects of a harsh 2024 winter.

Vintage replacement extension too little and too late for some

Greenhouse assistant Khila Calhoun breaks up soil for seedling plantings in July at the MBG Marketing/Berry Blue breeding and nursery facility in Grand Junction, Michigan. (Matt Milkovich/Good Fruit Grower)

Michigan breeder making better blueberries

A new variety hangs blue and ripe at a blueberry nursery in Grand Junction, Michigan, during an MBG Marketing field day in July. Blueberry growers will double their promotion assessment to help the U.S. industry keep up with rapidly increasing global supply. (Matt Milkovich/Good Fruit Grower)

A vote for boosting blueberries

Melissa Hansen, left, talks with Alexa McDaniel about a Washington State University Extension demonstration of an ultraviolet light prototype in a research vineyard in Prosser, Washington, in 2021. Hansen, the first research program director for the Washington State Wine Commission, embraced the role as an advocate for growers and wineries, making sure research projects targeted priority problems, such as powdery mildew in this case, and could deliver returns on industry investment. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Lighting the way forward

Introducing la comunidad

Grower Brandon Goldy demonstrates the scoring technique used to promote branching on young, high-density cherries in an orchard in Quincy, Washington, in March 2025.

Winning with high-scoring cherries

From left: Tom, Alison and Kristen DeMarree, the magazine’s 2025 Good Fruit Growers of the Year, at DeMaree Fruit Farm during harvest in Williamson, New York, in September.

Dininny: A deserving honor in a difficult year

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, left, listens to growers and tree fruit industry officials during a roundtable meeting, held in October in Wenatchee

DeVaney: Hope in hard times

Ana Valentin checks a bin of Premier Honeycrisp for color and quality in August at Douglas Fruit near Pasco, Washington.

Crane: Growing smarter

Good Stuff, December 2025

From left, Kristen, Alison and Tom DeMarree during September harvest.

Ahead of the curve: 2025 Good Fruit Growers of the Year

Tom DeMarree said they hedge their apple trees twice a year.

History and horticulture: 2025 Good Fruit Growers of the Year

Alison DeMarree, right, talks to apple growers Chip, left, and Karla Bailey in their Williamson, New York, office.

Deep data diver: 2025 Good Fruit Growers of the Year

Kristen DeMarree walks along a block of Minneiska (marketed as SweeTango) during September harvest, with her parents in the background.

Insight and innovation: 2025 Good Fruit Growers of the Year

Michigan State University horticulturist Greg Lang shows one of several sweet cherry tree systems at the MSU Clarksville Research Center in 2022.

Hort show preview: New ideas, new directions

Attendees at a presentation during the 2024 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO.

EXPO preview: Farm, family, future

Alondra Mendez-Guerrero, a young grower from Wenatchee, Washington

Washington wine acreage data needed for annual Grape Report

Washington apple industry leaders say crop coming in shorter than expected, especially Honeycrisp

New marketing materials debuted by USA Pears introduce consumers to the different flavor profiles pears offer, encouraging them to think of the fruit as a healthy snack. (Courtesy USA Pears)

New USA Pears logo aims to modernize marketing