The crisp charm of Washington apples

Kim Vaughn
Communications

Washington state, with its diverse climate, fertile soil, and dedicated orchardists, is renowned as the "Apple State." In this blog, we'll explore the rich history and delightful diversity of apples in Washington, as well as some interesting facts and reasons why these apples are so special.

Washington's apple legacy

Washington's love affair with apples began in the 1820s when the first orchard was planted, and pioneers and settlers recognized the region's potential for apple cultivation. There are five main growing regions in the state. They are:

1. Okanogan
2. Lake Chelan
3. Wenatchee Valley
4. Columbia Basin
5. Yakima Valley

Today, there are over 175,000 acres of apple orchards, averaging around 100 acres in size, although some orchards are as big as 5,000 acres. It takes an estimated 40,000 pickers to harvest all of Washington’s apples. Washington’s apples are shipped to over 60 countries and according to the Washington Apple Commission is the largest apple-producing state in the United States! 

A bounty of varieties

Washington’s apple orchards are home to more than 2,000 apple varieties, but a few have gained international acclaim. The most famous include:

• Red Delicious: Known for its iconic, bright red color and sweet, juicy flesh, the Red Delicious is one of the most recognized apples in the world.
  
• Gala: With its crisp texture and a unique combination of sweet and slightly tart flavors, Gala apples are a popular choice for fresh snacking.
  
• Honeycrisp: This apple variety has taken the world by storm with its perfect balance of sweetness, juiciness, and crispness.
  
• Granny Smith: Loved for its tartness, this green apple is a go-to for baking, making apple pies, or enjoying as a refreshing snack.
  
• Fuji: Originally from Japan but now a Washington favorite, Fuji apples are sweet, crunchy, and perfect for salads or eating fresh.
  
• Pink Lady: With its distinctive pink skin and crisp, tart-sweet flavor, Pink Lady apples add a splash of color and zest to any dish.

For top-quality apples suitable for pie-making, cider production, snacking, or essential tree maintenance tips, explore the Washington Apple Commission's website for more details.

 

The healthier choice

Did you know that eating one large apple provides 20% of the recommended daily value of dietary fiber, 8% of the antioxidant Vitamin C, and 7% of your day’s potassium? All that deliciousness is packed into only 130 calories — with no fat, no sodium, and no cholesterol.

The USDA’s dietary guidelines recommend eating two cups of fresh fruit a day. That’s the equivalent of:

• 2 small apples, or
• 1 large apple, or
• 2 cups of sliced or diced apples.
  
  

Washington apple pride: Nurturing the nation's best

Washington State's apple orchards are not just a source of economic prosperity, but also a symbol of pride and a source of joy for the locals. These apples have a unique combination of flavor, crispness, and sweetness that sets them apart. Whether you're munching on a Red Delicious while hiking in the Cascades or enjoying a Honeycrisp at a local farmer's market, Washington's apples will leave an unforgettable taste in your mouth. Washington is proud to be the top producer of apples in the country!

Bird flu returns, flock owners urged to enhance safety measures

Even with the spring and summer-long respite, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is once again on the move as wild birds migrate south to warmer climates. This poses a threat to domestic flocks, making the adoption of enhanced measures of biosecurity crucial in minimizing detections. Biosecurity is the essential practice that attempts to control the introduction and spread of disease.

Since February 2022, HPAI H5N1 has been circulating throughout the United States, with a new domestic backyard detection in King County reported this week by Washington State Department of Agriculture veterinarians.

To protect poultry flocks from accidental exposure to HPAI, biosecurity remains critical. Dr. Amber Itle, the Washington State Veterinarian, urges bird owners to continue taking extra biosecurity measures. She emphasizes that the biggest risk factor to date is direct contact with wild waterfowl, which increases the environmental viral load and the risk of transmission to domestic flocks.

There have also been reports of mammals contracting the virus, most recently in seals. All around the state and surrounding areas, cases of HPAI have been found in wild birds and in domestic flocks in Canada. This means the virus is in the environment. Biosecurity is a critical to protect our flocks.

Enhanced biosecurity not only safeguards flocks but also preserves farms from diseases like HPAI.

“By implementing robust biosecurity protocols, we can mitigate the spread of HPAI and ensure the health and well-being of our poultry industry,” Dr. Itle added.

Additional biosecurity measures include:

• Separate domestic birds from wild birds
• Separate domestic poultry from domestic waterfowl
• Discourage wild birds from coming near your flocks
• Only feed domestic birds indoors and remove feed at night (when wild birds often feed)
• Lock up your flock’s feed in containers with lids
• Remove bird feeders that might attract wild waterfowl
• Fence off the ponds
• Cover the chicken yard with netting

Veterinarians urge bird owners to stay vigilant and take the necessary steps to protect your flocks and ultimately the food supply. If detections spread to commercial flocks, the supply of food in our state could be impacted, along with the price for these products.

WSDA reminds flock owners of the domestic sick bird online reporting tool. The online tool complements the existing WSDA sick bird reporting hotline as well as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s online reporting tool for wild birds. Owners are urged to report sick birds to the state veterinarian’s office and help keep bird flu at bay.

Visit agr.wa.gov/birdflu to stay current on bird flu detections and get biosecurity tips. 

Eggplant delights in Washington State

Daniel Schafer
Communications

Eggplant, known for its deep purple hue and versatile culinary applications, can be a delightful addition to your plate or your garden. In this blog, we'll delve into the particulars of growing eggplants in Washington, and why they deserve to be this week’s Washington Crop Spotlight. 

Eggplant production

Eggplant production in the United States has been steadily increasing over the years. In 2019, the U.S. produced over 580,000 metric tons of it for an estimated value of $81 million, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. And while Americans eat just over one pound of it per year on average, it’s not one of the premier Washington crops. But as we’ll see in the next section, that doesn’t mean you can’t add it to your Pacific Northwest garden.

Ideal environmental conditions and soil quality

Eggplants, scientifically known as Solanum melongena, thrive in warm, sunny climates. In tropical climates they can be grown as a perennial. Washington State's climate is diverse, which means we grow our eggplants as annuals. But they can be successfully grown in regions with a long growing season nevertheless, particularly in Eastern Washington, where they can get the long string of hot days needed to thrive. 

To ensure optimal growth, plant eggplants in well-drained soil with a pH around 6.0-6.5. They require a minimum of six hours of sunlight per day and protection from strong winds, as they are sensitive to extreme weather conditions.

Health benefits of eating eggplants

Eggplants are not only delicious but also offer a range of health benefits. They are low in calories and a good source of dietary fiber. Rich in antioxidants, such as nasunin, eggplants can help protect cells from damage. They also contain important nutrients like potassium, which can contribute to heart health. Additionally, the skin of eggplants is loaded with chlorogenic acid, known for its potential to lower blood pressure and manage diabetes. Including eggplants in your diet can be a flavorful way to promote your overall well-being.

Explore Washington-grown eggplants

Coupled with their rich flavor and health benefits, eggplants make an excellent addition to your garden or shopping list. What’s more, you can savor the taste of local, freshly picked eggplants and support Washington's agriculture by visiting a u-pick farm. Check out this website to find a u-pick farm near you!

Washington’s sweet corn surprise

Daniel Schafer
Communications

You might think of corn as a distinctly midwestern crop. Drive through Illinois or Iowa and you’ll see  field after field of it. But corn is an ancient grain with roots in the western hemisphere. According to the Smithsonian Institute, “Humans first started selectively breeding corn’s wild ancestor teosinte around 9,000 years ago in Mexico.” The story of corn is a fascinating one, especially because it has become a central crop for the United States. In fact, it is grown in every state. In this blog, we’ll explore corn’s role in Washington agriculture.

Sweet corn and field corn

The reason you might see so much corn on a road trip across the United States is that it’s the number one field crop in the country in terms of production. But there are two main types of corn: sweet corn and field corn, and each has its own uses. Sweet corn is eaten fresh, and it’s the type you get at the grocery store in the can or from the freezer section. Meanwhile, field corn is used to produce products like cornmeal. It’s also used for cattle feed and ethanol.

It’s primarily field corn that is grown in the fields of Illinois and Iowa. Meanwhile, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin are the top three states for sweet corn production.

Washington's sweet corn

Grant County leads the way in sweet corn production in Washington, but farms across the state grow it. In fact, in 2022 Washington farmers harvested 69,500 acres of sweet corn on the way to a total production of 14,565,800 CWT and a total production value of $114,173,000, according to USDA.

But it’s not just the production value that makes sweet corn important to Washington farms. That’s because it’s a rotation crop — one that’s used to give soil time to regenerate after growing other crops. In Washington, those crops are often potatoes or wheat.

Much of the sweet corn grown in Washington — about 87% — is processed. That is, it’s canned or frozen. You can learn more about how corn is processed by watching this clip from Washington Grown:

Try Washington sweet corn this season — or enjoy it later!

We said earlier that there are two main types of corn, but there are many specific varieties. One thing they all have in common, though, is that they’re a great source of vitamin C. One of the great things about Washington sweet corn is that, even though its flavor is unbeatable when fresh, it still tastes great (and is good for you) from the can or out of the freezer. So whether you enjoy it fresh (we’re in the tail end of harvest season now) or you store it away in your freezer to enjoy this winter, Washington sweet corn is always a great choice!

The Flavor of Success: How Olympia Coffee found its way to South Korea with the help of WSDA

Daniel Schafer
Communications

Never underestimate the power of great coffee.

Washington is known for its great coffee — from Port Angeles to Spokane to Goldendale to Bellingham, we’ve got some of the best cafés in the world. But something special has been brewing in Olympia. Actually, I should say something special has been roasting. This is the story of a Washington business with global reach, and how Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) helped increase that reach, to share great coffee with the world. 

Olympia Coffee: Transparent sourcing and top-quality roasting

Sam Schroeder and Oliver Stormshak purchased Olympia Coffee in 2010, though the pair had worked for the previous owners since 2005 and 2009 respectively. They sought “to create a strong independent coffee roaster in the heart of the Pacific Northwest that will bring our coffee culture into the twenty-first century,” according to the company’s website. Olympia Coffee has accomplished this, and they’ve also succeeded in creating a transparent, equitable business that has created valuable partnerships throughout the supply chain that provides the coffee beans they roast. You can learn more about Olympia’s Coffee’s process in this short documentary, From the Source.

The combined efforts of Olympia Coffee and its partners have not gone unnoticed. The company has earned national acclaim, including first-place finishes in the 2023 U.S. Coffee Championships, where Co-owner Sam Schroeder won the Coffee in Good Spirits Championship and one of Olympia Coffee’s team members, Jake Donaghy, won the Cup Tasters Championship.

Though Olympia Coffee has sourcing partnerships with farmers in Central America and South America, it was being named Micro-Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine in 2013 that sparked a different kind of international partnership — this time, in South Korea. 

A new partnership 

In late 2012 Roast Magazine made the announcement. Its Micro-Roaster of the Year would be Olympia Coffee. Though the award didn’t make national headlines, people in the coffee world noticed, including Jongseok Won, a café owner in Busan, South Korea. Mr. Won was intrigued by Olympia Coffee’s story and ordered some of the company’s beans from an overseas direct coffee-selling website called GoCoffeeGo.com. After trying the coffee, “he promptly fell in love with it and dreamed that someday he would bring it to Korea,” says Danny Kim, the WSDA’s South Korea representative. 

Condisco Coffee in Seoul, South Korea.

In time, Mr. Won began preparations for a new café in Seoul — one that would serve exclusively
Olympia Coffee. But making his dream a reality was a challenge. Mr. Won contacted Olympia Coffee via email, but both parties needed help navigating the export of products from the United States. That’s where Danny Kim comes into the story. With the help of Kim and the WSDA International Marketing Program, Won was able to connect with his partners in Washington and navigate the export process that would eventually bring Olympia Coffee to Seoul.

But the partnership would run even deeper. In February 2023 Danny Kim, who is based in South Korea, traveled with Mr. Won to Olympia to visit Olympia Coffee in person. The pair spent four days in Washington, learning about Olympia Coffee’s roasting process and visiting all its cafés because, as Danny Kim explains, “Mr. Won wanted to experience as much as possible and feel the philosophy of Olympia Coffee.” Then, in September, Olympia Coffee exported its first coffee shipment to South Korea, just in time for the grand opening of Condisco Coffee, Mr. Won’s new café in Seoul.

A model for the future

The partnership between Olympia Coffee, Jongseok Won, and WSDA offers a model that can be applied again and again. When Washington producers like Olympia Coffee aim to expand internationally, it can be challenging to navigate the export process. But WSDA is a committed partner that can help producers connect with trade partners and share Washington’s products — and in this case, products that started in Central and South America — with the world. 

To learn more, visit the WSDA International Marketing webpage.