Looking Ahead Pt 1
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. Looking back on the year that was and looking ahead to what will be. That was just some of the takeaway from last month’s Washington State Tree Fruit Association’s Annual Meeting and Hort Show.
WSTFA President Jon DeVaney says it was a tough year for fruit growers, but nothing they’re not used to …
DeVANEY … “I would say, the silver lining to that is some of these were problems that we in agriculture were dealing with for a while. Access for foreign markets and supply chain challenges, labor supply has been a challenge for agriculture for a while, and we know that food’s essential but, you know, so is air but we don’t always think about that.”
Looking ahead, DeVaney says messaging will be key …
DeVANEY … “We are making a concerted effort to help legislators who don’t represent agricultural districts understand that there are good reasons that they already care about to support these. That they may not necessarily have a deep interest in agricultural producers or communities, but what we’re asking for is in tune with the values that they already hold.”
And some of our problems, DeVaney says will continue …
DeVANEY … “I think that there are going to be ongoing challenges related to COVID and supply chains and our keynote speaker, Peter Zeihan talked about that possibly through late 2023, which I think there was a collective sigh or groan or gasp depending on how you respond to bad news.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on the months ahead and the messages that could help.
