MAP Funds for Cherries

MAP Funds for Cherries. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Gaining and maintaining access to export markets is key for northwest ag producers and according to BJ Thurlby, President of NW Cherries, the Market Access Program dropped some more dollars in their lap.

THURLBY: Northwest cherry growers work with the USDA relative to the MAP program and our producers actually received about $1.3 million dollars for export market development this year which we have to match dollar for dollar and we’re going to do that and that’s more funding than we’ve ever received here. So given all the issues that are going on in our country with the economy and jobless rate, that’s kind of a glint of hope here in the valley for our growers that we were able to see an increase.

He says that folks in Washington DC are taking notice.

THULBY: We’re running programs that are adding value and the people in Washington DC are actually seeing that and we’re showing them explicitly how our promotional programs are actually driving increasing sales in export markets so it’s kind of a positive that we think it’s something that growers should be happy about.

Cherries had a very good year worldwide.

THURLBY: One of the things that they measure is program effectiveness relative to new market and growth market increase and so we’ve seen increases in Korea. We had a record year in Korea. We had a record year this past year in Australia, we had a record year in Vietnam and so we have some great success stories that we’re sharing which adds to the value or at least gives the people who are deciding who gets what piece of the pie, they felt like our programs are effective.

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