06/07/05 Organic tree fruit research symposium,Pt2

Yesterday's kick off of the National Organic Tree Fruit Research Symposium in Chelan included a field trip to various areas of our tree fruit growing region, giving participants an idea of the large scope of the Northwest's organic industry. So now day two today focuses the participants on the task at hand. And according to Symposium organizer David Granatstein of Washington State University, that means developing a long term strategy for the organic tree fruit industry. GRANATSTEIN: What will we need in the future to be successful in organic tree fruit production, say the next five to ten years, what are some of the big themes, or trends, or forces out there that all of us & growers and researchers & need to be thinking about as we look towards the future. Helping facilitate that discussion is a panel of organic tree fruit industry insiders covering major trends, and reports from various regions of the country where organic production has proved successful. GRANATSTEIN: So as we go around the country hopefully we'll start to hear where the common themes are, and where the major differences are, and that will help inform our discussion of how do we craft some sort of a national agenda for research in this area? And as an added bonus, participants will receive an industry perspective from the South American organic tree fruit industry. And all this information will be used in planning for the industry's future. More on that in our next program.