Looking Ahead Pt 2
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. The rough ride we’ve experienced the past two years has tested everyone’s patience. But one of things we could do to help agriculture moving forward is to help spread the positive messages.
Washington State Tree Fruit Association President Jon
DeVaney says not everybody understands agriculture …
DeVANEY … “If you interact with people online, it’s easy to turn them into cardboard cutouts and say that person is probably a terrible person looking to be a bad guy. But, interacting with those legislators and other officials and the general public in making sure they understand who you are, what you do and why you do it is a great benefit to our industry.”
DeVaney says we have every reason to remain positive …
DeVANEY … “I think that we in food production, especially fresh produce and apples in general, which are best known as “the way to keep doctors away,” the future looks very bright for us because we now have a public which appreciates more than they have in a long time where there food comes from, the importance of fresh, healthy food, and why they should care about their local producers and care about where their food comes from.”
As for more in-person meetings, DeVaney says let’s do it …
DeVANEY … “I’m pretty confident that we will be able to. I think that with increasing vaccination rates and more information, people are better able to handle those remaining risks and meet safely.”
DeVaney says we’ll get through this together.
