WA State Tree Fruit and Legislation Pt 1
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. As this year’s legislative session winds down, as always it seems, there are bills relating to agriculture.
Washington State Tree Fruit Association President Jon DeVaney says it may be a short session this year, but it doesn’t really feel like it with the number of proposals on the table, some favorable and others not so much …
DEVANEY … “I like to start with the good news. There’s a few bills that our industry and agriculture are supportive of that are moving forward and have cleared the cutoff.”
And that, DeVaney says is the first hurdle …
DEVANEY … “One of the bills that did move out of the Senate unanimously was the soil health initiative, which was a proposal that agriculture interest groups, grower groups, the Washington State Department of Agriculture, the Conservation Commission, and Washington State University were all supportive of, to do some additional research and work supporting soil profiling and soil health research.”
And the soil, DeVaney says is, of course, where it all starts …
DEVANEY … “That’s something that tree fruit has been interested in for a while, how we can do improved soil health and nutrition research to make sure that our trees are healthy and producing well. So, it was good to see that initiative moving forward. It’s both supported by agriculture and environmental groups, so it’s a nice alliance and shared interested there.”
Listen tomorrow for more on DeVaney’s take on this year’s legislation, both the good and the troublesome for growers.
