Checking the Progress of Pears

Checking the Progress of Pears. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Everyone has been buzzing about this years cherry season and before long we will start hearing more about apples, apricots, peaches and pears. Dennis James, Marketing Director for Pear Bureau Northwest says so far things have been looking pretty good for this year’s pear crop in Washington State.

JAMES: The one thing this weather is going to bring us is I think it’s going to start just a little later than a traditional season but I think we’re going to have a very abundant crop this year, probably one of our larger crops.

According to James, this years weather has played a big part in creating a good scenario for harvest.

JAMES: And I think that you can expect that we are going to see some of the higher quality and I say that because if you look at the cherry deal. The cherry deal this year has gone great guns because the weather conditions were just ideal. We are coming into a summer that has not been super hot, it’s had some cool days throughout Oregon and Washington states.

But unlike the cherry crop that was so big a lot of smaller fruit is being left on the trees, he says that won’t happen with pears.

JAMES: We’re definitely not going to be in that position, just the opposite. As we’re doing our marketing programs year over year what we’re trying to do methodically is really hone out areas if there is smaller fruit there’s retailer who like that and want to take advantage of it.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.