Good year for Washington juice grape growers

November 16, 2012 @ 9:07 am

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Wine grape growers get most of the attention, but juice grape growers in Washington say they've had a good year, thanks to a relatively bountiful crop and higher prices.

Growers harvested about 174,000 tons this year. Trent Ball of the Yakima Valley College's agriculture program says that's higher than the past two years, but down about 19 tons from the 10-year average.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports ( http://is.gd/2dtdS4) growers were paid about $280 a ton. Demand has been high because of spring frost damage to grapes in New York and Michigan vineyards.

Washington is the country's largest producer of juice grapes, accounting for more than half of the national production. Most are grown in Yakima Valley near Grandview. Most are concord grapes used in drinks or to make jams and jellies.

___

Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakimaherald.com


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
More Local News
Top Stories

  • Dollars Per Student
    Washington spending per student is below the national average

  • Coming Together
    If you came home to nothing but the concrete slab - what would you do?

  • Our Dirty Wars
    Director and investigator Jeremy Scahill is at SIFF talking about a myth surrounding Obama
MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments