Despite hail damage in the Wenatchee, Washington, district, Stemilt Growers is packing and marketing its largest pear crop ever of 1.5 million 44-pound-equivalent boxes, up from 1 million last season. Industrywide, the early-season estimate of 20 million boxes of summer and winter pears in the Pacific Northwest was revised to 16 million boxes after summer storms. Stemilt has developed a Pear-a-Rama promotion to encourage retail demos and ads on an assortment of pear varieties, and has developed a special promotion for the Concorde pear, emphasizing its English origins. Display cards describe its flavor, and name wines and cheeses that go […]