Fruit Industry Innovation Part 3

Fruit Industry Innovation Part 3. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report.

We've been hearing from OSU's Clark Seavert about how the pear industry has been keeping place and the possibilities of future innovation.

SEAVERT: I think about profit maximization. I know there is a lot of excitement and a lot of changes coming up and has been in the industry but economic principals have not changed. Profit maximization is still the underlying theory of economics and it suggests that you'll invest money on inputs to increase revenues as long as the incremental revenues are over and above the incremental costs.

He says another area to look at it mechanization.

SEAVERT: That labor thing is really staring to scare mean I need to be thinking about labor and think about efficiencies. That's where I think in gearing up to this the next ten years is going to be real important and I'm not talking about mechanical assist, I'm talking about automated. $4000 an acre of investment for mechanical, automated harvesting. I can't believe I'm going to invest this kind of money.

Of course with this kind of investment the return to the grower is very important and he talks about the three factors to successful orchard renewal.

SEAVERT: First and foremost is the price of the product. The higher the price, the better. Second of all is yield. Always second. It's not only how much yield but also when do you get it. So the earlier the yield, the better. Third and always will be third is cost. Cost of establishment. Don't scrimp. Don't buy the lesser, cheaper trees.

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