Raspberry Industry Loses One of its Pioneers
Anyone connected to the berry industry in northwest WA and British Columbia knows Darryl Ehlers. Memories of his big heart and unique brain cast a large shadow over us when we heard of his death on Monday, June 21st.
WRRC awarded Darryl its Industry Service Award in 2019. The video tribute to Darryl captures his “philosophy of life”, his abundant energy, and passion for farming.
He was a true character, friend, and berry pioneer. He is missed already!
Current Happenings
Plan to join us on September 16th from mid-to late afternoon for post-harvest party and presentation of the new plan, recent marketing successes and discussion of next steps in research and fair trade actions. We plan to host this at Rob’s Samson Estates facility and to feature innovations in raspberry food and beverages. The Wild Hive marketing team will be there with exciting news from the marketing program.
More details will be forthcoming following harvest.
Save the Date!
* 2021 Reports are due September 30th *
Make ACH payments
directly to WRRC.
Virtual Washington Red Raspberry
Harvesting and Processing Tour
The WRRC continues to support the US Trade Representative’s Investigation No. 332–577, Raspberries for Processing: Conditions of Competition between U.S. and Foreign Suppliers, with a Focus on Washington State, for the purpose of providing a report that provides an overview of the U.S. raspberry industry in Washington state and assesses the conditions of competition between U.S. and foreign suppliers of raspberries meant for processing. As part of the International Trade Commission’s 14-month study, their staff planned to participate in an in-person tour of our harvesting and processing practices this summer. However, due to the pandemic restricting travel, the WRRC created this comprehensive virtual harvesting and processing tour that is now accessible to the ITC, as well as the general public.
School Foodservice Update
As part of our ongoing efforts to engage school foodservice, we have just launched a new toolkit and supporting webpages that provide this important audience with resources just for them. The site showcases top school chefs and culinary professionals and includes recipes formatted and designed specifically for schools. In addition to the resources, we have partnered with Healthy School Recipes, and they hosted a webinar on September 17 to walk K-12 operators through the new resources and give them practical tips and tricks to incorporating frozen raspberries in a variety of formats into their school menus. Attached is a press release about the new site and resources, as well as the webinar, that we are using to promote the new offerings to school foodservice-focused publications across the country. We are thrilled to bring these new resources to support the industry’s efforts to increase demand within the school foodservice market.
Newsletters
Upcoming Meetings
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Sept 16: POST HARVEST PARTY
Samson Estates Winery
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Dec 1-3: WA SMALL FRUIT CONFERENCE & LYNDEN AG SHOW
Lynden Fairgrounds
