Silver Pear Award Pt 2

Silver Pear Award Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. Dedication to the pear industry is what it takes to become a Silver Pear Award winner and that is what Hood River’s Ed Ing is all about.

I spoke with Ing about what being named the Silver Pear winner at last month’s Washington State Tree Fruit Association Annual Meeting in Yakima means to him …

ING … “Well, it’s just a very good industry. It’s really all about the people, pears in particular. It’s a fairly small community of growers and that’s always been something that I’ve treasured is just knowing people from the Pacific Northwest that are facing the same issues that I am as a pear grower.”

With 40-plus years in the pear industry, I asked Ing if he had any wisdom he’d like to share …

ING … “Well, I don’t know if I’d call it wisdom, but I think I touched on some of the things that excite me is that being a small industry, knowing we have consumers that, you know, maybe have yet to understand what a good pear is.

I think there’s a lot of optimism for the future.”

Optimism, Ing says in spite of the challenges …

ING … “Obviously some adversity that is potentially going to continue in the future, but I think that there is definitely a future in pears and that we should embrace it and continue to grow pears in the valley, in Hood River and also in the Pacific Northwest. It’s the ideal place in this world actually to grow pears.”

Ing says he just wants to continue sharing some of the lessons he’s learned to the next generation of tree fruit growers.

Previous ReportSilver Pear Award Pt 1
Next ReportWSTFA DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD Pt 1