—story and photos by Matt Milkovich H-2A worker Salvador Salazar Peinado prunes apple trees at Joe Rasch Orchards in Sparta, Michigan, in March. He’s been leaving Mexico to work in Michigan for years, and he’d like to continue. (Matt Milkovich/Good Fruit Grower) Growers in Michigan’s Fruit Ridge orchard region north of Grand Rapids started this growing season with plenty to worry about. Markets were still glutted with apples after a big 2023 crop, and prices were low. Trees were budding early after an extremely warm winter, and everyone was anticipating a long spring of potential crop-killing ..read more

—story by Ross Courtney Actors dramatize an uncomfortable orchard scene in a video screenshot from ¡Basta!, a University of Washington sexual harassment prevention training curriculum. (Courtesy Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center) Agricultural employment groups are making a new push this spring for companies to use a training curriculum designed to prevent sexual harassment in Washington’s specialty crops. It’s called “¡Basta! Prevent Sexual Harassment in Agriculture.” (“¡Basta!” is Spanish for “Enough!”)  The curriculum, with resources available in English and Spanis ..read more

Northwest Cherry Growers has released its first crop estimate for the 2024 season, expecting 21 million 20-pound box equivalents, or 210,000 tons. If that figure holds, it would surpass the 2023 total harvest of 18.7 million boxes by 12 percent, according to a May 7 news release from the Yakima, Washington-based organization that collectively promotes sweet cherries from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana. This was the first of several crop estimates that are made by industry representatives periodically through the season, based on weather, acreage and bloom conditions.  Califor ..read more

—story and photo by Matt Milkovich —photo by TJ Mullinax Vineyard workers tie grapevines to trellises at Oxley Farms in Southwest Michigan in June 2022. The Oxley family still hires local workers, but, anticipating labor shortages, they only plant varieties they know can be machine harvested. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower) A few decades ago, a wave of mechanization rolled through the Michigan grape industry, when juice-grape growers and larger wine-grape growers started adopting new harvest and other technologies.  Once that initial wave ran its course, however, the industry stopped ..read more

—story by Kate Prengaman —photos by TJ Mullinax Allan Bros. Inc. Chief Financial Officer Clint Novak, right, talks with high school seniors, from left, Sarah Busey, Brooke Miles and Nathan Beauchene about the financial realities of their dream jobs after graduation. The discussion, held in January at the company’s headquarters in Naches, Washington, was part of the expansive new internship program the fruit company developed in partnership with the local school district. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower) The tree fruit industry offers careers far beyond orchards, and internships can provide more ..read more

—story by Matt Milkovich —photo by TJ Mullinax H-2A crew members thin apples on a platform at DeMarree Fruit Farm in Williamson, New York, in July 2019. As New York’s wages rise and its overtime threshold lowers, more growers will rely on platforms and other technology to create efficiencies. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower) New York growers are wedged between the state’s rising wage rates and a lower threshold for overtime exemptions, which went into effect this year. They’re seeking escape through mechanization and other efficiencies, but it’s getting harder for them to plan for the future.&n ..read more

—by Kate Prengaman To help growers protect workers and stay in compliance with Washington’s heat safety rules, Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet launched a “Worker Heat Awareness” model to provide employers with location-specific forecasts aligned with risk thresholds, as shown in this screenshot highlighting data from a hot week last August. (Courtesy Washington State University) Crops aren’t the only things at risk from heat stress and wildfire smoke in the air. So are the people who work to harvest them.  New models on Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet website offer g ..read more

Jeremiah Hart, left, and Jesus Padilla build new ladders at Tallman Ladders in November in Hood River, Oregon. As the fruit industry mechanizes and automates, a handful of companies in the United States still build thousands of ladders every year, mostly by hand. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower) Richard Shenyer first learned of his company’s pending demise in the 1990s. A fruit company field rep told him dwarfing trees, trellises and platforms would make his tripod orchard ladders unnecessary. “I remember him walking in and saying, ‘Boy, we’re gonna put you guys out of business, everything’s ..read more

The Teeple family at their orchard in Wolcott, New York. From left are Jackson, Frank, Levi, Danielle and Philip. They strive to make their farm a place where everyone feels welcome. (Courtesy Hannah Eygnor) If you’re like most fruit growers these days, you’d probably love to find a new source of labor to tap into. If so, there’s a group you might not have considered: autistic people.  Autistic individuals probably aren’t going to solve all of your labor problems, but they can bring unique strengths to your operation if you can offer accommodations that set them up for success.  “The ..read more

Nature Safe Fertilizers welcomes PNW regional sales manager Mike Ansolabehere Nature Safe Fertilizers recently added Mike Ansolabehere as Pacific Northwest regional sales manager, according to a news release. His focus will be on organic fertilizer needs for specialty crops, including apples, cherries, pears, blueberries, hazelnuts and grapes. Ansolabehere holds a degree in crop science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and has more than 35 years’ experience in California’s Central Valley, having served as: a retail pest control advisor concentrating on integrated ..read more