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Climate change means more extremes for Washington hops farmer

Sep 25, 2023
After a cold spring and unseasonably hot and dry summer, Patrick Smith of Yakima is seeing some abnormalities in when his crops mature.
"Overall, I'd say that the apple crop statewide is looking quite good," Washington farmer Patrick Smith says.
Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images

Fall is prime time for apple picking

Sep 22, 2022
“We'd like to think that we're responsible for high demand but it's really the weather," says Al Rose of Red Apple Farm.
Nancy and Al Rose of Red Apple Farms in Massachusetts. "COVID made us stronger," Al Rose says.
Courtesy Rose

Strong dollar is squeezing profits from this Washington farmer's exports

Jul 21, 2022
Patrick Smith, CEO of Loftus Ranches, is fighting inflation as well. Some fertilizer materials have nearly doubled in a year or two, he says.
"Beer is still good business," says Patrick Smith, CEO of Loftus Ranches in Yakima, Washington. Above, fresh hops from a California farm.
Katherine Garrova/Marketplace

Washington apple farmer is "optimistic" as workers get vaccinated

“They are on the front lines of the food production industry in this country," said Patrick Smith, who runs Loftus Ranches.
"I’m really hopeful that when we get to our harvest season, globally, things are really looking up," says Patrick Smith, whose family runs Loftus Ranches, an apple and hops farm in Yakima, Washington.
Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Coronavirus is driving people to one family farm

Oct 15, 2020
"I guess, thanks in large part to COVID, we had a lot of people looking for outdoor picking and being outside at farms," says Red Apple Farm owner Al Rose.
Al Rose says in New England, people associate fall with going apple-picking.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Coming soon to a produce aisle near you...

Jul 23, 2019
What the Cosmic Crisp means for the apple industry.
Aysia Stieb/The California Sunday Magazine

Tariffs on Mexican imports may increase the price you pay for apples

May 31, 2019
One apple farmer in Washington state shares his concerns about the trade war with Mexico.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Retaliatory Mexico tariff could leave apples rotting on trees

Jun 6, 2018
The 20 percent tariff on U.S. apple exports will have huge effects on Washington's apple industry.
Red Delicious apples hang from the branches at Walters' Fruit Ranch on September 18, 2006 in Green Bluff, Washington. Mexico is the top export market for Washington apples, which make up 90 percent of nation's apple exports.
Jeff T. Green/Getty Images

What China's tariff retaliation means for apple growers

Apr 4, 2018
Patrick Smith of Loftus Ranches says trade wars disproportionately impact U.S. farmers.
Mark Morrell picks over his Jona Gold apples at Walters' Fruit Ranch in 2006 in Green Bluff, Washington.
Jeff T. Green/Getty Images

Kids won’t eat their apples? Try slicing them

May 25, 2016
Researchers from Cornell University found slicing apples boosts consumption by 70 percent.
Richie Girardin/Creative Commons