Climate Smart Specialty Crops Pt 1

With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. Whether it’s from the USDA or Congress, it seems we’re hearing of more plans or legislation to make positive improvements in the sustainability of agriculture and climate smart changes.

But Northwest Horticultural Council president Mark Powers says for specialty crop producers like our tree fruit industry, the focus is a bit skewed …

POWERS … “Because when USDA often times thinks about agriculture, they think about the big commodities, right, annual crops, animal products, soybeans, the traditional corn and wheat, and that kind of stuff. Well, they’re very different, obviously, than a perennial crop like tree fruit.”

Specialty crops, Powers says need to be factored in …

POWERS … “And so, what we’re saying is, okay, if you’re coming up with a program, make sure that it can be applicable to tree fruit, especially if they’re going to do a labeling program or some sort of a marketing program, some sort of incentive-based program, which is what they’re talking about.”

Because, Powers says, we care … we really do …

POWERS … “We think we’re actually a very positive impact on the climate. We sequester carbon in trees. You know, we don’t have annual crops, we have cover crops in between the rows. There are lots of different things that we could point to and say, you know, we’re a net benefit, we think, for the climate.”

Tune in tomorrow to hear what the specialty crop industry is doing to get their voices heard in the national debates.