Specialty Apple Plates Pt 1

Specialty Apple Plates Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. With over 50 specialty license plates in the state of Washington, how is it we don’t have one for our most famous crop, our apples?

Republican State Senator Brad Hawkins is now pushing to change that …

HAWKINS … “The Washington Apple Commission approached me some weeks ago about sponsoring this particular bill.”

And for Washington apples, Senator Hawkins says it only makes sense …

HAWKINS … “The idea behind the Washington Apple license plate is that we have an opportunity under state law to have specialty license plates to raise awareness of certain things. We have a whole variety of specialty license plates currently in our state, but we don’t have any for Washington apples so that really surprised me."

So, Hawkins says why not this year …

HAWKINS … “It’s an important year for the apple industry. We have the new Cosmic Crisp apple. We have ongoing trade issues internationally affecting our apple industry.”

But, Hawkins says the driver behind this push is a great one …

HAWKINS … “And, it’s the 25-year anniversary of the Washington Apple Education Foundation which is an organization that provides scholarships, which is the charity of our tree fruit industry. So, this is a good year to raise awareness for the industry and, hopefully, raise some good money for college scholarships for our farm worker’s and our orchardist’s families.”

The license plate would recognize the rich history of our state's apple industry, the dedicated growers, and the renowned reputation of Washington apples worldwide.

Listen tomorrow for more.

To sign a petition supporting the Apple Plates … go to …

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/washington-apples-license-plate

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