Pear board reports positive market outlook for ’ 21 crop
cording to pear grower Pat Scully of Scully Packing in Lake County. ChrisZanobini, thepear advisoryboard executive director, said the CPAB would focus on informing retailers and shoppers that “fresh, new-crop pears that have not been treatedwithanti-ripeningagentswill be available fromCalifornia in July.” The board said it would promote pears onsocialmediaandworkwith influencers toshowpeoplehowtoripenandusepears. TheCPABsaiditwouldalsopartnerwith the Produce for Better Health Foundation to hold awebinar for registered dietitians,
retail marketing teams and consumer in- fluencers, focused onmaximizing pears’ tastewhile reducing foodwaste. Richard Elliot of Stillwater Orchards in Courtlandsaidpear farmerssupport retail- ers’ efforts to reduce waste, “but we won’t reducewaste if consumers buypears, take themhomeandthenthrowthemawaybe- cause they never soften or ripen.” For that reason, the CPAB said its webi- nar with influencers would focus on the best ways to select, ripen and store pears, to assure a positive experience for shop- pers and therefore reducewaste.
Pear farmers expect the California har- vest to begin in early July, and say pros- pects for the crop appear positive. The California Pear Advisory Board re- ports the crop should be “more plentiful thanthe last twoyears”andpredicted2021 “willbeagreatyear” formarketingthecrop. “Volume and quality of California pears areexpectedtobegood, andtimingshould beearlier thaninthelastcoupleof seasons,” theCPABsaid inapreseasonnews release. The board said it based its market op- timism on reduced inventories from the 2020Northwest pear crop, andonreduced imports of pears fromSouthAmerica. Farm Bureau opens 2021 Photo Contest The40thannualCaliforniaFarmBureau Photo Contest has opened, with $2,500 in cash prizes available. This year’s theme, “Member Reflections,” encourages Farm Bureau members who are amateur pho- tographers to enter photos that showcase California’s agricultural bounty fromtheir personal perspective. Photos may highlight a variety of farm, ranchandfoodimagery.Examples include farm animals, items being grown or har- vested, rural scenery, fresh or plated food, and people working and living on a farm or ranch. There are no specific categories for entries; participantsmay submit up to fivehigh-resolutiondigitalphotosorprints. Entrieswill be eligible for oneof 12 cash prizes, ranging from $50 up to the $1,000 Grand Prize. The contest is open tomem- bersof countyFarmBureaus inCalifornia. Participants must be amateur photogra- phers—thosewhodonot regularly receive income fromphotography. In addition to the general competition, photographers younger than age 14 as of Sept. 30, 2021, andwhoarechildrenor de- pendentsofFarmBureaumembers, arein- vited to submit photos as BuddingArtists. Presentedby theCaliforniaFoundationfor Agriculture in the Classroom, this catego- ry awards a first-place prize of $250 and a second-place prize of $100. All Budding Artists entrants also receive a copy of the “Imagine this…” bookof storieswrittenby students and inspired by agriculture. In addition to the cash prizes, winning photos will be published in Ag Alert® and the bimonthly California Farm Bureau magazine California Bountiful® . The pho- tos will also appear on the organization’s websites, www.cfbf.com, www.agalert. com and www.californiabountiful.com, and social media pages. All entries must be postmarked or sub- mittedonlinebySept. 30. Entry forms and official contest rules are available online atwww.cfbf.com/photocontest andwww. californiabountiful.com, and fromcounty FarmBureaus. For more information or additional forms, contact photocontest@cfbf.com.
But South American imports could begin arriving in U.S. markets as the Californiaharvest seasonnears, theCPAB said, noting that the imported pears are oftentreatedwithanti-ripeningagents that allowthemtobestored for ayearor longer. California farmers “have pledged never to use anti-ripening agents,” ac-
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June 9, 2021 Ag Alert 11
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