Tree Fruit Day

Tree Fruit Day. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Each year members of the tree fruit industry make a pilgrimage to Olympia to visit with lawmakers. Bruce Grim, Executive Director of the Washington State Horticultural Association says it is an important time for the industry.

GRIM: Tree Fruit Day is our opportunity in agriculture, especially tree fruit then to go over and spend some time with legislators from all across the state. Primarily those we are looking at who are on committees that have to do with ag or appropriations or ways & means, those things.

There were over 30 members of the industry that made the trip this year.

GRIM: We had scheduled approximately 80 appointments; we also delivered gift boxes of apples, pears, whatever we could get into the gift box. I think we delivered something like 316 of those to offices and also full boxes of apples for the Senate and House and that is always exceedingly well appreciated. They love to see us come because we come bearing gifts.

Grim says it is important to get in front of the legislators with both people and products.

GRIM: I think we’re seeing a lot of interest legislatively in what’s going on in the tree fruit industry because as the rest of the economy has contracted and suffer issues, we are not suffering some of those same kinds of issues. But legislatively we are concerned about what the current state of the economy is going to do to us which is part of the reason we are addressing these issues in Olympia and part of the reason for Tree Fruit Day.

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