"We Have Grown Fine Fruit Whether We Would Or No"
Author : Amanda L. Van Lanen
Publisher :
Page : 235 pages
File Size : 49,51 MB
Release : 2009
Category : Apple industry
ISBN :
Author : Amanda L. Van Lanen
Publisher :
Page : 235 pages
File Size : 49,51 MB
Release : 2009
Category : Apple industry
ISBN :
Author : William A. Luce
Publisher :
Page : 67 pages
File Size : 25,23 MB
Release : 1972*
Category : Apples
ISBN :
Author : Amanda L. Van Lanen
Publisher : University of Oklahoma Press
Page : 354 pages
File Size : 34,10 MB
Release : 2022-09-29
Category : History
ISBN : 0806191503
In the nineteenth century, most American farms had a small orchard or at least a few fruit-bearing trees. People grew their own apple trees or purchased apples grown within a few hundred miles of their homes. Nowadays, in contrast, Americans buy mass-produced fruit in supermarkets, and roughly 70 percent of apples come from Washington State. So how did Washington become the leading producer of America’s most popular fruit? In this enlightening book, Amanda L. Van Lanen offers a comprehensive response to this question by tracing the origins, evolution, and environmental consequences of the state’s apple industry. Washington’s success in producing apples was not a happy accident of nature, according to Van Lanen. Apples are not native to Washington, any more than potatoes are to Idaho or peaches to Georgia. In fact, Washington apple farmers were late to the game, lagging their eastern competitors. The author outlines the numerous challenges early Washington entrepreneurs faced in such areas as irrigation, transportation, and labor. Eventually, with crucial help from railroads, Washington farmers transformed themselves into “growers” by embracing new technologies and marketing strategies. By the 1920s, the state’s growers managed not only to innovate the industry but to dominate it. Industrial agriculture has its fair share of problems involving the environment, consumers, and growers themselves. In the quest to create the perfect apple, early growers did not question the long-term environmental effects of chemical sprays. Since the late twentieth century, consumers have increasingly questioned the environmental safety of industrial apple production. Today, as this book reveals, the apple industry continues to evolve in response to shifting consumer demands and accelerating climate change. Yet, through it all, the Washington apple maintains its iconic status as Washington’s most valuable agricultural crop.
Author : Washington State Horticultural Association
Publisher :
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 45,25 MB
Release : 1905
Category : Fruit-culture
ISBN :
Author : Loomis J. Shadbolt
Publisher :
Page : 19 pages
File Size : 35,92 MB
Release : 1954
Category : Fruit trees
ISBN :
Author : Alexander A. Smick
Publisher :
Page : 1146 pages
File Size : 46,52 MB
Release : 1929
Category : Agricultural experiment stations
ISBN :
Author : Lawrence A. Burt
Publisher :
Page : 22 pages
File Size : 32,53 MB
Release : 1982
Category : Fruit
ISBN :
Author :
Publisher :
Page : 560 pages
File Size : 18,15 MB
Release : 1940
Category : Fruit-culture
ISBN :
Author : Washington (State). Department of Agriculture
Publisher :
Page : 38 pages
File Size : 19,90 MB
Release : 1957
Category : Fruit
ISBN :
Author : O'Rourke Desmond
Publisher : Washington State University Press
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 30,49 MB
Release : 2022-04-15
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780874224122
Longtime agricultural economist Desmond O'Rourke wrote Tree Fruit Trade as both a tribute and a cautionary tale. Along with personal anecdotes, he describes major players and organizations, and chronicles challenges like the 1988 Alar scare, changing regulations, food trends, and the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. He discusses the emergence of new threats, from the growth of Walmart to rising competition from China, and explains how the intrusion of electronics, sensors, and computerized technology has forced family-owned firms to absorb new, specialized employees. He recounts battles to gain foreign market access and the ongoing campaign to ensure adequate labor for a growing footprint. He analyzes how the availability of adequate water and a large expanse of Columbia Basin flat land allowed the industry to dramatically increase production, achieve new levels of productivity, and design orchards suited to modern tree architecture.