04/25/05 Asparagus Commission addresses a concern

04/25/05 Asparagus Commission addresses a concern

Washington Ag April 25, 2005 How the Washington Asparagus Commission should handle inquiries from outsiders interested in buying asparagus from growers was the subject of a special meeting of the Commission last week. There have already been concerns raised about one recent meeting some commissioners had with an unidentified relatively large buyer. Not all growers who may have been interested knew about it. Commission chairman Jim Middleton says as Washington transitions to a fresh asparagus state, due to the loss of canners, there will be more inquiries. Middleton: "So we need to set a policy that allows growers who are looking for a home for their asparagus to be contacted by these packers. So we are going to send out a letter to each grower in the state and allow them to decide whether they want to be on this list of prospective growers that these packers can access and contact so they can source their product." The Asparagus Commission plans on getting the mailing out quickly particularly since Sennecca, which is closing its canning plant this year, may not have a full season and those growers would then need to find a market for their remaining asparagus. I'm Bob Hoff.
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