07/27/07 Fruit Update Part 2

Fruit Update part 2. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Yesterday we talked with WSU Extension Agent, Tim Smith about the cherry and pear crops. Cherries are just about done but Smith says apples are getting ready to gear up. SMITH: It's not a huge crop. There's a lot of thought that it might actually be slightly less than last years in production but it's certainly an adequate crop. Most growers have a reasonable crop of most varieties but it's certainly not a barn buster. Last year there was problem with Golden Delicious russet that so far this year hasn't been an issue. And even though it's a small part of the overall fruit industry Smith says this year's apricots are good. SMITH: Working on almost finishing the apricot crop which was probably the best one we've had in year's quality and production wise. I also asked Tim about how the immigration issue is affecting producers. SMITH: We're having difficulty getting apples thinned. People would rather pick cherries and make a whole ton of money than work by the hour. If labor is short, then the labor of course is always going to go where the money is and that's picking cherries. And as long as we are picking cherries we're having difficulty getting all of our apples thinned on time and so, yeah, labor is short. But it's not a disaster. Cherries  most of them got picked on time. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.