Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, said as growers get geared up for another growing season, he and many others in the industry are optimistic about what 2023 holds in store.
“I think so. If only because people would still not be in agriculture if they were not optimists. You need to stay hopeful about the future or you would have given up long ago. There’s a lot of optimism that we can have a return to more normal sized crops and fewer challenges with managing the workforce in either cold or hot weather, as we’ve had over the last two years, unusually so, during production and harvest period.”
But there are also other challenges to consider, from the broader economy, politics, as well as public policy. And don’t forget about the Washington legislative session underway in Olympia.
“The legislature has come in to session, and we have quite a few issues that we’re working through and I’m optimistic there as well that we’ll be able to get positive outcomes. But there’s a lot of complicated discussions that we’re engaged in at the moment on issues that will affect the industry.”
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