Karen M. Lewis

Washington State University

Othello, Washington

Presented at the 41st Annual IDFTA Conference, February 21-25, 1998, Pasco, Washington.

The Columbia Basin tree fruit production area includes the acreage east of the Columbia River from Wenatchee south to the Tri-Cities. The Columbia Basin is a 1.2 million acre (486,000 ha) federal reclamation (irrigation) project that currently delivers water to 550,000 acres (223,000 ha) and encompasses Grant, Adams and Franklin counties. These three counties make up the Columbia Basin Fruit Reporting District. Familiar names of the fruit growing areas in these three counties include Mattawa/Wahluke Slope, Royal Slope, Quincy, George, Basin City, Radar Hill, Bench Road and Pasco. Although somewhat understandable, some incorrectly include the acreage and current expansion in the Walla Walla/Snake River area south of the Tri-Cities as "Basin" expansion. If you use Washington State Statistical Office information, it is important to note that the Columbia Basin is Fruit Reporting District #5 and the Walla Walla/Snake River area is reported to Fruit Reporting District #7.

New orchards are being planted in the Columbia Basin, however the pace of increase is slowing down. Current numbers are difficult to obtain. However, from the county assessor's office you can get a relatively accurate picture of what is being planted and what is being removed. As of 1997, the Columbia Basin had a total of approximately 49,870 acres (20,180 ha) of tree fruit, with 34,570 acres in Grant County, 4,800 acres in Adams and 10,500 acres in Franklin (Table 1). Of this, over 45,000 acres are planted to apples.

Table 1. Columbia Basin tree fruit acreage for Grant, Adams and Franklin counties (Source, Washington Fruit Survey, 1986 and 1993; Washington Agricultural Statistics Service, P.O. Box 609, Olympia, WA 98507; www.nass.usda.gov/wa).

1986 1993 1997

Total fruit 28,000 37,000 49,800

Apple 23,600 31,000 46,000

In 1993, there was a total of 37,000 acres with 31,000 in apples. In 1986, there was a total of 28,000 acres with 23,600 in apples. In just 10 years approximately 22,000 new acres have been planted. The mix has shifted to more apples and, with a loss in soft fruit acreage, we actually had an increase of 22,400 acres of apples.

Because Grant County is the largest of the three counties in the Columbia Basin and because current and accurate numbers are available for Grant County, I will use Grant County to demonstrate the trends taking place throughout the Basin and, to some extent, the expanding acreage to the south.

As tree fruit acreage has expanded, apples have been the choice of many (Table 2). Basically, soft fruit has been displaced by apples. Pear and cherry acreage has increased but the percentage of the mix has remained the same.

Table 2. Grant County acreage for 1993 and 1997 by fruit type (Source, Grant County Assessor's Office, P.O. Box 37, Ephrata, WA 98823).

1993 1997

Crop Acreage % Acreage %

Cherries 1,855 6.4 2,173 6.3

Pears 605 2.1 766 2.2

Apples 24,376 84.1 30,206 87.4

Other fruit_ 2,162 7.4 1,427 4.1

Total 28,998 34,572

Comparing 1993 to 1997 we find that, while apple acreage increased for all varieties, the percentage of Delicious in the mix decreased by 16.8% from 61.6 to 54.8 (Table 3). Golden Delicious, Braeburn and "Other Apples" maintained about the same percentage. Fuji and Gala percentages increased and the percent of the mix for Granny Smith decreased. Other apples would include acreage of older varieties like Rome and newer varieties like Sansa, Cameo and Pink Lady.

Table 3. Grant County apple acreage for 1994 and 1997 by variety (Source, Grant County Assessor's Office, P.O. Box 37, Ephrata, WA 98823).

1994 1997

Variety Acreage % Acreage %

Reds 15,012 61.1 16,562 54.8

Fuji 2,019 8.3 3,864 12.8

Granny Smith 2,908 11.9 3,429 11.4

Golden Delicious 2,622 10.8 2,827 9.3

Gala 700 2.9 1,989 6.6

Braeburn 593 2.4 788 2.6

Other apples 522 2.1 747 2.5

Total 24,376 30,206

In 1996, the Columbia Basin acreage produced 555,000 English tons (503,500 metric tons) of apples. That is about half the 1.2 million (1.089 million metric tons) for the Yakima district and just short of 1 million (907,200 metric tons) for the north central Washington district.

Costs for prime and less than prime land have increased significantly in recent years. Prices for prime land have neared $3500 to $4000 an acre ($8,600 to $9,880 per ha). While high for this area, land is still less expensive in the Columbia Basin than in the north central Washington and Yakima districts. Continued expansion to tree fruit will result in considerable displacement of other crops. We grow about 60 commercial crops in the Basin and much of the remaining ground suitable for orchard belongs to families who are tied to row crop production. Finding individuals or families willing to sell is becoming more difficult. Much of the "prime orchard ground" is already planted to trees and we continue to move to ground that is less than prime or marginal.

Most of the virgin ground for which the Columbia Basin is famous has been planted. We now face the added measures necessary to make new trees grow on old ground. Replanting behind row crops does not present as many problems for orchardists but, for the most part, fumigation is going to become more the norm, not the exception.

Currently, orchards in the Columbia Basin have a ready supply of water that is both high quality and inexpensive. Because we are a federal project, politics will continue to play a major role in water availability and costs and, therefore, acreage expansion.

In 1997, of the over 46,000 acres of apples in the Basin, about 60% is owned by outside or absentee owners, meaning that the owner or taxpayer lives outside the county in which the orchard is located. Approximately 85% of the absentee orchard owners are fruit packing companies or individuals located in north central Washington or Yakima districts. Most of the newly planted orchards belong to this group.

Based on nursery plantings, talks with growers and my crystal ball, I believe that we will see a slowdown of plantings in the state overall and in the Columbia Basin. New acreage in the Basin will be planted to mostly apples with some peaches and sweet cherries. In the apple mix, I see a decrease in Fuji plantings and an increase in Granny Smith, Delicious, Gala and Braeburn. Cameo and Pink Lady acreage will increase, but currently there is a wait-and-see attitude with these new varieties.

The fruit expansion to watch carefully is in the Walla Walla/Snake River/Kennewick area south of the Columbia Basin. I am not sure how much land will be available for sale in this district and I suspect that, if a lot of land is planted to tree fruits, it will be planted on ground that is leased, not owned, by the orchardist.