Opinion: Research Is Critical And Needs Support

We’ve run a couple of stories recently on our website, www.growingproduce.com, that at first glance seem completely unrelated. The first, which appeared June 2, was about the discovery of a new pest, the Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), also known as the cherry vinegar fly. It was found to be doing some serious damage in California cherry orchards, and caused enough concern that an informational hearing on the pest in early July attracted about 300 growers, pest control advisers, etc. I attended the hearing and wrote about it for both the website and this issue of the magazine, so you can read all about it. And you should, especially if you’re a California grower, because you need to learn all you can about this potentially serious pest.

The second story first appeared June 25, when the University of Idaho announced it was closing a prominent cooperative Extension research station in Parma known for its critical role in the state’s fruit industry. Knowing how instrumental that station was in the birth of Idaho’s table grape industry about a half-dozen years ago, I called Ron Mann, a grower who helped found the industry, for a comment. I recall the conversation well, because Mann was the angriest grower I’ve ever interviewed. He growled that the decision was “insane,” and then vowed: “We’re going to put pressure on that university.”

Ron wasn’t fooling. A couple weeks later the university announced, in a joint statement with Gov. Butch Otter, that it was putting the decision to close the center on hold. Otter, incidentally, used to be with J.R. Simplot and presumably knows the value of ag research. I don’t know if that had any bearing on his decision, but I doubt it hurt.

Give Me An “R”

As you might guess, I am totally opposed to the closure of the Parma center. In general, I think the cooperative Extension system in this country deserves our whole-hearted support. The reason is simple. We here at American/Western Fruit Grower consider research to be absolutely vital. Indeed, it is one of the linchpins of our CROP initiative, as the “R” stands for “Research.”

Anyone who doubts the value of research should have been at that July hearing on the new California pest, SWD. It was astonishing to hear just how little we know about this very real threat. By the way, if you doubt how serious this problem could be, picture one of your family members opening up a clamshell of cherries, popping one in her mouth, only to discover that it’s full of maggots.

The state’s primary state entomologist, Kevin Hoffman, said the pest just “came out of nowhere.” From not known to be in the state — though it’s been in Hawaii for 15 years — it was suddenly found throughout about half of California, including most of the prime ag land. Time and again, Hoffman answered growers’ questions by saying “We don’t know.”

All I can say is we’d better find out. The fly hates hot, dry weather, so a lot of people don’t think it will be a problem in the San Joaquin Valley this summer. (It just hit 100 degrees as I’m writing this, and I’ve never been happier to see triple digits.) But what if they’re wrong? And what about coastal areas? What about this year’s grape crop? We need answers, and that means we need more research. Please think about that the next time legislators propose Extension cuts. They just don’t know the value of research.