09/21/07 Almost Finished

Almost finished. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. The Washington State apple crop is nearing completion and from the looks of things, growers should be pleased. President of the Washington Apple Commission, Dave Carlson. CARLSON: Gala harvest is pretty well complete. It looks like it picked out within 1 or 2% of estimate which is up from last year. Quality of the Gala's is outstanding; actually the quality of most varieties is really nice this year. Mother Nature has cooperated very well. We've had some good weather so far. And while the Gala harvest is pretty much complete many varieties are either in the process of picking or just getting started. Pack outs have been good and most of last years crop has been sold. CARLSON: Everything from the reports I've heard is packing out better than normal with less cullage than we normally expect which bodes well for the growers. Interest from the sales perspective is extremely good right now. We've seemed to have accomplished the marketing of last year's crop with just a little bit left but a very small amount. There have been some reports of worker shortages. CARLSON: I think we experienced that last year, probably the year before. We've always had some problems in the areas that are more remote particularly North Central it's always been a problem and this year it may be a little more active than it's been. And even in the other areas on some individual cases, there are shortages of workers. Monday, more with Dave Carlson on the 2007 apple crop. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.