Stemilt Winter Meeting

With no time to unpack after our blueberry road trip, we jumped back into the Walnut to make the Stemilt winter meeting in Wenatchee. We have cherries, apples and blueberries that go to Stemilt Growers, a family-owned and operated tree fruit company. Their annual meeting usually provides us with some good growing and marketing information, so we try to make it every year.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Capital projects and pool review shared by West Mathison
• Organic demand has grown 25% in the last 4 years
• Apple growers need their production above 35 bins per acre for organic monetary benefits
• The industry is predicting a huge organic premium in 2014 so many growers are transitioning blocks to organic. As a result of that survey, oversupply is the prediction for 2015 and that will of course lower the premium so growers will get out of organic and the cycle will continue.
• Stemilt's club variety Pinata has another redder version called the Rojo that will be released in 2-3 months. Stemilt is planning for 260 more acres spread out over 3 years. The last 7 years for Piñata/Pinova growers have been a tough road, so current growers will have precedence over new growers. Anyone interested needs to submit their plan to Stemilt.
• Stemilt's goal is to have 50% of fruit at mid and long term - 48% of 2011 fruit made that goal
• Organic Honeycrisp were O pool and 1 pool exclusively - longer storage did not happen
• Organic Piñata volume will decrease because of a large grower (Broche) is grafting to a different variety
• Tory Schmidt shared info on chemical thinning
• Over thinning is rare in the western US because of the lack of light and cool nights; conditions that are bad for fruit set most of the time
• 2/3s of thinning done during bloom is best
• Pollen tube growth has been added to Ag Weathernet
• GA3 (ProGibb/Folgro) - 4 weekly applications applied weekly in the light bloom year
• Equilfruit Disk - Branch caliper gauge used for fruit set calculations
• Ines Hanrahan discussed harvest and post harvest Honeycrisp
• 9,100 acres of Honeycrisp are planted now
• October & November are the lowest price months for Honeycrisp returns - March is the best
• More Honeycrisp plantings in Chile. They'll arrive in US mid May 
• Post harvest protocol: 1 week at 50 F before long term storage at 37F
• Soft scald can take up to 3 months to fully express itself
• The later you harvest, the more risk you have for soft scald
• Current recommendations:
• Earlier picks store better
• If waiting for color you will compromise storagability
• A heavy crop will mean waiting for color
• Mike Taylor's Sales Report
• Retailers focus mostly on these 3 varieties: galas, reds, Grannys
• The following information is from Desmond O'Rourke
• Reds
• 1/3 of total apple population
• 60% exported to India
• 24% expected reduction by 2021 (Mike disagrees - he's bullish about reds)
• Weak dollar good
• Cheaper ocean freight than truck freight heading west
• Mid size is key
• MCP, Retain & Harvista good products for size & color
• Goldens
• 9% of total apple crop
• 35% export to Canada & Mexico
• 24% reduction by 2021 (Mike disagrees - fewer packed boxes but not acres)
• Impacted by local & regional
• Process options
• Becoming a late season window
• Galas (Mike still believes this is a 'To Plant Variety')
• 22% of total
• 31% exported
• 18.5% expected increase by 2021
• Impacted by regionals - Michigan, etc
• Grow large sizes with good color
• Impacted by Chili and France
• Need modern varieties
• Fuji
• Modern Fuji vs. older varieties - very different
• Club varieties are pushing fujis later in the season
• High color for CA best bet - upgrade over the next 4 years
• Honeycrisp
• 20' of shelf space in a typical store. This equals $'s.
• 3.5% of crop
• 265% expected increase by 2021
• Sales & marketing until June
• Is redder better?
• All other varieties
• Dissecting space after Honeycrisp: Ambrosia, Envy, Sonya, Jazz, Pacific Rose, Lady Alice, Piñata
• Not all are going to make it
• Average grocery store sells 45 boxes of apples a week
• Retailers want more organic Honeycrisp
• Organic consumers like fujis, galas, Honeycrisp & Granny
• West Mathison's discussion of upcoming cherry crop
• As of 3/8/2012 we were at 141 blossom degree days, last year we were at 102 and normal is 180
• Cherry production is up!
• Oregon 14,000 planted acres, Washington 38,000 planted acres
• 2011 had a long bloom period and compressed picking time
• 2009 had 21 days of over 95F
• NOAA 3 month forecast

• As you can see, according to the NOAA we're in for below average temps for the next 3 months but not as cold as the west side. Notice the newlyweds will be enjoying above average temperatures in Gulfport, MS. No surprise there!

•  In this pic, the NOAA is saying we have an equal chance for above and below average precipitation which is good because it is more of a generalization.
•  Last year at this time the forecast was for below average temperatures and above average precipitation which played out. 
• For a good cherry year we need the following:
• Pick big portion before June 25th
• July 15 - August 10 export markets
• Shipping occurs over +80 days vs. 2009 when shipping occurred over 65 days
• Techniques for Managing Powdery Mildew from Dr. Gary Grove
• Apple and cherry mildews are different
• If you promote vegetative growth, mildew will develop
• Once you can see it, it's at 2nd stage
• Ideal weather for mildew includes humidity and rainfall or too much irrigation water
• More open a canopy means more relief from mildew
• Ag Weathernet Model will tell you when to spray
• If you had mildew last year, you will need to start spraying earlier
• Weather, varietal susceptibility, cultural practices determine how much of a mildew fight a grower will have
• Very cyclic so an early start really helps
• Cultural practices say cut out suckers early, manage your canopy to promote light penetration
• Hold off on irrigation as long as possible
• Fungicide program with effective materials is important with good spray coverage applied at labeled rates
• Ag Alert Z (private company) like Ag Weathernet will send a message to your cell phone and give you disease pressure information
• Potential train wrecks
• Spray intervals
• Reduced rates
• Equipment
• Spray conditions
• Fungicides
• Regalia, Sonata, Serenade, Sulfur & Oil (All are organic)

Phew, I need a green beer after all of this! Happy St. Patrick's Day!