Bearing Fruit: A Podcast from the Washington State Tree Fruit Association (WSTFA)

We talk with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney, WA State Fruit Commission President Eric Patrick, and WSU's Jeremy Tamsen.

This episode of Bearing Fruit shares some conversations we had with folks at December's WSTFA Annual Meeting in Wenatchee, along with a chat I had with a WSTFA lobbyist during Tree Fruit Day in Olympia last month. 

Harvest related topics include how apples and pears have been doing this season, the upcoming WSTFA Annual Meeting in Wenatchee, and H-2A reform and how that is going. 

Washington apple harvest for 2025 is upon us and we talk with Washington State Tree Fruit Association president Jon DeVaney and Washington Apple Commission president Michael Schadler about this season's forecast and what to expect from this year's crop as harvest gets underway.

We talk with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney about cherries and other tree fruit-related subjects. Then we are joined by Karley Lange, the Domestic Promotions Director for Northwest Cherries, to tell us about the estimates for the upcoming crop and what to expect in the weeks ahead when the cherries are on store shelves.

On this episode of Bearing Fruit, we talk with former and returning Executive Director of the Washington Apple Education Foundation Jennifer Witherbee about return to the post and what WAEF is up to this year. We also talk with Larry Mattson, the new Director for the Office of Columbia River about what growers should expect from the water supply in 2025. 

This month we talk with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney about the upcoming 120th Annual Meeting and Hort Show as well as the Ag Leadership Program. We also talk with Monson Fruit Grower Relations Rep, Jeff Baldwin who is the chair for this year's WSTFA Annual Meeting and what will be happening there. We also chat with Viri Acevedo, an office operations manager at Zirkle Fruit and a graduate of the Ag Leadership Program. She will share her experience with ALP and why she believes in the program and why it might be something you should consider as well.

We talk with Washington State Tree Fruit Association President, Jon DeVaney who shares his thoughts on the early estimates for this year's apple crop ... and then we chat with Pear Bureau Northwest International Marketing Director Jeff Correa about how things are looking for our pear crop this season.

We begin talking with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney about the new Pear Bureau President and other changes there. We also discuss the upcoming WSTFA Golf Tournament coming on August 27th. Then we meet Pear Bureau's new President CarrieAnn Arias and the new role for International Marketing Director Jeff Correa as Manager of the Fresh Pear Committee.

We kick things off with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney to talk about tree fruit harvest that are underway or soon to begin. We follow up with Todd Myers, Senior Vice President of Research at the Washington Policy Center, a beekeeper himself, about the threats to our honeybee populations and whether it's something to BEE too concerned about. Then, we talk with Brandon Hopkins, Assistant Research Professor with the Washington State University Apiary Program to get his take on what their studies show when it comes to honeybee threats.

We open up with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney talking about hot topics in the tree fruit industry and then move to a pair of leaders in the NW tree fruit industry who have recently announced their upcoming retirements. We talk with Keving Moffitt, President and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest, and Washington Apple Commission President Todd Fryhover, about their accomplishments over the years, the challenges their replacements will be facing and what their plans are moving forward.

On the March edition of Bearing Fruit, we talk with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney about the good and not-so-good from the recently completed legislative session in Olympia. We also talk with a student, Elena Tucker, and a professor, Mike Rogel, from Central Washington University about their Food and Agribusiness program where students can earn a minor or a certificate. 

WSTFA President Jon DeVaney talks with us about what's going on in Olympia during the current legislative session and bills we should keep an eye on. We also talk about the importance of getting involved and helping educate lawmakers about the actual needs of the tree fruit industry and agriculture in general. We also chat with Washington Apple Education Foundation Executive Director, Dr. Faviola Barbosa about the fast-approaching deadline for scholarship applications.

We're lead off, as always, with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney with his recap of what to expect at this year's annual meeting in the Tri Cities. He will be followed by David Magana, a RaboResearch executive who is giving the Key Note Address at the annual meeting's opening day. He will be followed by this year's Batjer Address speaker, David Granatstein, Professor Emeritus from WSU to give a tease of his talk on sustainability.

We talk with Pear Bureau Northwest's Jim Morris about this year's crop estimates, and with Washington State Fruit Commission President BJ Thurlby about a new processing agreement and the challenges facing the industry. We also chat with Marty Olsen, chair of the upcoming WSTFA Annual Meeting and Hort Show in December.

On this episode of Bearing Fruit, we talk with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney about what did and didn't happen for agriculture in the last legislative session in Olympia. We also talk with Northwest Cherry Growers President BJ Thurlby about the what he learned about the upcoming cherry crop at the 5 State Meeting in Tri Cities. Then we wrap things up with Corina Serban, Little Cherry Disease Program coordinator at the WSU Extension Office. 

WSTFA President Jon DeVaney kicks things off with his perspective on how things are looking for agriculture during this current legislative session in Olympia. He is followed by Hannah Poush, Leadership Development Director at the Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation. She shares her thoughts on the upcoming 45th AgForestry Leadership Program, a calls that has been building leaders in agriculture since 1978. And, to wrap things up, Scott Nielsen, Program Manager for the Pest Management Division of the Washington Department of Agriculture, joins us to share his thoughts on spraying for pests in your orchard this spring.

Bearing Fruit is joined by Michael Cohen and Jeff DeWald, of Agribusiness Succession Advisors, and by Kelli Visser, of Larson Gross, to talk about the importance of getting your succession plan started in order to pass it down when it's time for you to step aside. 

With the WSTFA Annual Meeting and Hort Show fast approaching, we talk with meeting Chairman Jared England, Batjer Address speaker Karen Lewis and WSTFA President Jon DeVaney about what to expect in Wenatchee December 5-6-7.

August's episode of Bearing Fruit breaks down the new Agricultural Leadership Program coordinated by the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, the Washington State Department of Agriculture, and Washington State University. The ALP is a comprehensive, bilingual training program designed to enhance leadership skills of farm supervisors and managers.

Bearing Fruit talks with Yakima County Pest Control Board and Washington Department of Agriculture's Pest Program Manager about invasive pests the state's tree fruit industry has to try and manage on a continuing basis.

Jeff Correa, from Pear Bureau Northwest and Washington Apple Commission's Todd Fryhover share their thoughts on what the port slowdowns and export challenges mean to them.

Longtime Washington Apple Education Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Witherbee is retiring, and Dr. Faviola Barbosa has been selected to replace her. We speak with both about this big leadership change to find out what it's meant for Witherbee and what's Barbosa brings to the program!

In this edition of Bearing Fruit, we talk with experts about the challenges exporters have faced in the past couple of years getting their goods to foreign markets in a timely manner and what's being done to remedy the problems and when we might expect to get past this.

Episode #2 of Bearing Fruit, from the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, touches on legislation that will impact agriculture with WSTFA president Jon DeVaney, as well as taking a look back at 2021 and what's lies ahead with NW Cherries Growers president BJ Thurlby.

This first-ever episode of Bearing Fruit will focus on WSTFA's 117th Annual Meeting and NW Hort Expo coming up December 6,7,8 at the Yakima Convention Center. We will talk with WSTFA President Jon DeVaney about the podcast launch. We will also talk with Jordan Matson, Chair of the organizing committee about what folks are likely to find at the Annual Meeting and NW Hort Expo. We'll also talk with one of the keynote speakers, Geopolitical Strategist Peter Zeihan as well as Mike Willett who has spent more than 50 years in the Washington tree fruit industry to get a little taste of what they'll be addressing at the Annual Meeting.