12/09/05 Apple marketing order?

12/09/05 Apple marketing order?

After three straight years of above normal quantities in the Washington State apple crop, 2005 is turning out to be a smaller crop year. But as Bruce Grim of the Washington Apple Growers Marketing Association says, the abundant crops of recent years got growers thinking how to assure they would get a beneficial price for their product. GRIM: We began to discuss issues of how we could possibly, legally restrict supply. A number of different ideas have been tossed around. We have two study committees, one in Yakima, one in Wenatchee, so we're having on going discussions. And ironically, Grim says it is this year's smaller crop, and the every other year cycle of small crop followed by big crop that is spurring discussions even more. GRIM: I see (the) market report indicated that the crop is now up to about 97 million. If that's the short year, what's next year going to look like? So it's going to move this issue of what ways. One of the possible options is formation of a federal marketing order for Washington apples, similar to what is done for Northwest cherries and pears. Now one might think "apples" and "marketing order' and relate that to the previous efforts of the Washington Apple Commission. But Grim says those are two completely different things. GRIM: It was a commodity commission set up by the state. There are federal and state marketing orders can be either direction and so it again is very much in the discussion stage but it would allow the order to set grades, standards, we could restrict supply in that fashion. It's an idea that is being tossed around.
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