The 2021 cherry crop is shaping up to be larger than last year’s but with the usual caveat for the sweet, fragile fruit: A single weekend of wind or rain could cause widespread devastation.The cherry industry didn’t miss a beat when the Covid-19 pandemic arrived a year ago. Washington growers...

Fewer apples are going to market in 2021, but this isn’t really a complaint.“This has proven to be very advantageous as far as Covid and trade issues go,” said Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission.The industry expects to harvest 122 million bushels in 2021, compared to 134 million...

In 2020, Washington potato growers faced a staggering surplus of potatoes.In 2021, they’re banking on a revival of the food service industry, including in-person dining, improved shipping conditions and a just-opened Mexican market to help reverse the chaos left by the trade wars and Covid-19 pandemic.The pandemic brought restaurant dining...

After a chaotic year, Washington’s hop industry is looking for a win. “Things are starting to get rocking and rolling again,” said Jaki Brophy, communications director for the Washington Hop Commission, following a year of Covid-19 restrictions, lower beer sales and punishment by Mother Nature. Wildfires and windstorms took a...

The Miller family’s place in the history of Washington wine is secure, and their Airfield Estates tasting room ranks as one of the most iconic in the Yakima Valley.Along the way, however, Marcus Miller positioned Airport Ranch Vineyards into one of the state’s most important producers of Concord juice grapes.It...

June always brings a spring to our step at the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business as we explore the state of Washington’s agriculture and viticulture sectors for our annual Focus: Agriculture + Viticulture magazine.Find the standalone magazine inside our June edition, along with a host of ag-related stories throughout the...

While Lamb Weston and Mid-Columbia potato growers were dealing with an unexpected surplus of spuds this spring, Mid-Columbia asparagus farmers had a different tale to tell.They had the skilled cutters they needed to bring in the harvest and prices were strong. 2020 was a solid year for the iconic first...

While the quality of grapes and winemaking in Washington state remain world-class, the global glut of wine continues to cut into the industry’s bottom line.Consumers stand to benefit, whenever shelter-in-place restrictions and pandemic-affected spending allow.“The Washington grape market is suffering from a structural imbalance between supply and demand that will...

Washington’s agricultural exporters faced brutal headwinds in 2019 and they are facing them again in 2020.Trade wars, retaliatory tariffs targeting the state’s most iconic crops and a new Pacific Rim trade alliance that didn’t include the U.S. marred the 2019 season, driving producers to seek new markets in Vietnam, the...

Covid-19 could hurt southeast Washington’s cherry crop by limiting the number of fruit pickers allowed in orchards.The fickle crop is healthy, delicious and highly profitable, but a litany of factors can threaten its success. If weather cooperates and diseases are kept at bay, the fruit must be picked, packed, shipped,...