How You Can Help Top Apple Growers Toot Their Horns
March 8, 2022 Most apple growers I’ve met are rugged individualists. It’s hard for me to picture them sitting at a desk all day; most just aren’t the corporate-cubicle type. They enjoy the sense of freedom being outside brings, and they’re not crazy about getting interference from government regulations and other obstacles to producing something they take great pride in, this year’s crop.
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They have to keep their eyes on such a prize, because when you think about it, growers only get paid once a year, when they sell their crops. How many people would borrow huge amounts of money to produce a crop each year? A crop that is by no means guaranteed? Not many.
Most corporate types couldn’t take that pressure. In fact, some big corporations have gotten into fruit growing, only to get out of it after a few of years. Growing fruit is a lot tougher than manufacturing widgets. You can just see them holding their quarterly meetings, videoconferencing with the guys in charge back at their New York City headquarters. The guys back East calling the shots are finding out the fruit division of the company is running into problems with this year’s crop because of a horrendous hailstorm. They look at each other and say, “This fruit-growing business is tough enough as it is, but having profits repeatedly threatened by a factor outside our control is too much.”
I don’t think most people could handle the risk inherent in fruit growing. It requires people with an even keel who can handle that risk. They very much resemble the old line about behaving like a duck — serenely touring a lake, above-water as calm and unflappable as can be, while below water, out of sight, they’re paddling with all their might.
Such a person is the furthest thing from a braggart. And that’s where you come in. Somebody has to brag about fruit growers, because if you don’t do it, perhaps nobody else will. That’s why I encourage you to help honor a segment of this great country’s fruit growers who are found coast-to-coast, America’s apple growers.
The nomination period for the American Fruit GrowerSM Apple Grower of the Year Award recently opened. We established the award 33 years ago because of the great work being done by apple growers around the country. The then-editor of American Fruit Grower, Gary Acuff, came up with the idea of honoring apple growers. At the time, Acuff specifically thought John Rice of Pennsylvania’s Rice Fruit Company should be honored that first year for his tireless work in trying to battle the ridiculous, later unfounded, uproar
over Alar.
Incidentally, John still usually attends the annual Apple Crop Outlook & Marketing Conference in Chicago, hosted by the U.S. Apple Association (USApple). It’s at that well-run conference — which I urge all apple growers to attend — where I present the award, a large, handsome, crystal bowl. If you think this award is no big deal, I doubt you’ve been to that conference, nor seen the faces of the winners at the trophy presentation. They can get a little emotional, something I always seem to be unprepared for, because it’s so different than the unflappable grower I knew before he or she hit the stage.
In other words, the award means a lot to those who receive it. Sponsored by Valent USA, the award recognizes apple growers who have reached outstanding levels of success through their efforts in innovative production, marketing, horticultural, and management practices. Winners demonstrate commitment and leadership to their field by producing high-quality fruit, being actively involved in associations, and taking a strong role in shaping the direction of the apple industry.
If you know enough apple growers, you probably know one who fits the bill, so take a few minutes today and fill out the form below.
You’ll be glad you did, because if you don’t speak up for that worthy grower, perhaps no one ever will, least of all the grower.
For a complete list of Apple Growers of the Year from 1989 to present, scan through the photo gallery at the top.
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