Pear Growers Vote on OR/WA Partnership Pt 2

Pear Growers Vote on OR/WA Partnership Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. An upcoming vote by pear growers in both Washington and Oregon will allow them to either stop or continue the federal marketing order under which they've collectively promoted their fruit for decades.

The referendum organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, comes up for a vote every six years ...

KATHY STEPHENSON ... "And the way we collect grower names for this referendum was to contact shippers, and then they are telling us who their growers are. All that information from fresh pear growers, as well as process pear growers will be sent to Washington, USDA, and they will send out a mailing, here I think in mid-February, that growers will see their ballots come to their homes. And literally it's a yes or no. Do you support the marketing order created in order to have the fresh pair committee?"

Kathy Stephenson with Pear Bureau Northwest, which administers the order, says it's been very popular ...

KATHY STEPHENSON ... "In prior years, the referendum was approved at a 90% rate or more. I think it was 96% of the growers approved it, representing 88% of all volume. So, for a board and a marketing order to be approved at that rate is really incredible. We're really hoping that we continue to serve the growers in our marketing order as well as we have in the past. So, we will see in the next month or so."

A two-thirds majority by either the number of growers or volume of production is needed to pass.

The order, which began in 1939, is the nation's longest running.

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