YAKIMA — The challenges and opportunities in the tree fruit business will be the theme of the 120th annual meeting of the Washington Tree Fruit Association and Northwest Hort Expo, Dec. 9 through 11 in Yakima. 

Convention sessions are split between two venues. Most of the panel discussions and classes, including the Spanish-language sessions, are at the Yakima Convention and Events Center, 10 N. Eighth St. Most of the exhibitors in the Hort Expo, the trade show that accompanies the convention, will be at the Yakima SunDome, 1304 S. Fair Ave. 

The Spanish sessions are scheduled for Dec. 10 and last all day. Hispanic workers have been part of the tree fruit industry for decades; the first Spanish-language sessions were held in 2011. In 2024 it’s a full day of classes, covering topics from irrigation to safety in the orchard, pest control to human trafficking. 

Classes that offer pesticide application continuing education credits, with Spanish translation, are scheduled for the SunDome all three days. 

“Our goal is to help educate and inform growers, provide a forum for discussions and identify strategies and tools to succeed in this ever-changing industry,” wrote Jeff Baldwin of Monson Fruit, Selah, convention committee chair.  

Ray Starling, former official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will be the keynote speaker on the convention’s opening day Dec. 9. Gary Grove, professor of plant pathology at Washington State University, will talk about advances and challenges in beating pests and disease on the first day.  

Some information is applicable to the entire industry; the Dec. 9 sessions include a discussion of sales and marketing. Other topics include a discussion of public attitudes toward agriculture and how those affect consumer choice when shopping. 

Speakers will discuss the results of labor cost studies, updated regulations for the H2A program, preventing human trafficking, workers compensation and getting people who were injured on the job back to work. A panel discussion on labor and related issues is scheduled for Dec. 11. 

Every grower takes their fruit somewhere; the destination for all those apples, cherries and pears is sophisticated processing and storage facilities, but they’re still called the warehouse. The warehouse is the subject of a panel discussion on the first morning of the convention.  

Technology is playing an ever-growing role in agriculture of all kinds, including tree fruit. There’s a panel on the perspective growers have on the impact of technology. One entire session is scheduled on technology, from automated irrigation to cybersecurity to technology that helps assess the crop, along with the potential for robotics like automated sprayers and accessories. 

Separate sessions are devoted to cherries and pears. Classes for cherry growers will discuss the economics of cherry production and the true cost of harvest, the latest on studies of cherry nutrition and a panel discussion on current and future cherry production. Growers will be invited to a cherry orchard tour at Sundquist Fruit, Selah. 

A pear grower panel also is scheduled. Other classes will address pear packing, storage and marketing.  

The latest research has long been a focus of the annual meeting. Topics for 2024 include cherry and pear disease and pest management, how to get the most out of technology, evaluating the effect of different storage methods on fruit quality. Just to show some things haven’t changed much since the first hort convention in 1904 or so, there are classes devoted to combating the codling moth, the creature that is the culprit when a worm turns up in an apple or pear. 

The Hort Expo trade show will have the bulk of its exhibitors at the SunDome. Vendors range from ag equipment dealers to tree nurseries to fertilizer and chemical companies.

    Washington State University students cut samples of a new apple at the 2023 Washington State Tree Fruit Association annual meeting. The 2024 event is scheduled for Dec. 9-11 in Yakima.
 File photo   

    An exhibitor talks with attendees at the 2023 WSFTA annual meeting. Yakima will host the 2024 meeting in early December.
 File photo