Talking Tree Fruit

Talking Tree Fruit. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. The recent Tree Fruit Day was a chance for tree fruit industry leaders to meet with legislators in Olympia to not only discuss the issues but to show off some of their product. Bruce Grim, Director of the Washington State Horticulture Association says a lot of talk though was about budgets and how that will affect growers. GRIM: I think the big problem is obviously the budget shortfall in the state, somewhere between 2.6 and 2.8 billion in this biennium. We're not talking about the 2011-2013 biennium which will be a whole "nother" set of problems because we will start the budget process in 2011 without the $3 billion dollars of federal assistance – stimulus funds. Those dollars were used to close the gap in the 2009-2011 biennial budget. Tax increases and spending cuts are the plan as of now to help balance that budget. Grim says that leaves a lot of additional questions. GRIM: If they're going to raise taxes then whose taxes are they going to raise? Whose exemptions – somebody's loophole is someone else's very necessary tax policy and so I think that remains to be the question to be decided. Again, the Governor clearly seems to indicate it's going to be a combination of tax increases and spending cuts to get balanced within this biennium. Tomorrow Grim talks about the changing H2A picture. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.