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Industry Partners
Stakeholder input has been essential to this project’s development and will be just as essential to its success. Stakeholders were included in every step of the planning process for this project. In 2004, Dr. Whiting’s lab partnered with innovative growers and USDA-ARS engineers to initiate preliminary research efforts with funding from the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission. In each of the last 4 years, Dr. Whiting has demonstrated a prototype mechanical harvest system at his annual field day to more than 120 growers. Grower/industry feedback was solicited and has been incorporated into the structure of the current project. On 5 March, 2009, the framework and objective setting for this project was refined at a meeting attended by project PDs and 22 stakeholders from WA and OR representing the entire value chain, from nursery to retail.
Stakeholder input has been essential to this project’s development and will be just as essential to its success. Stakeholders were included in every step of the planning process for this project. In 2004, Dr. Whiting’s lab partnered with innovative growers and USDA-ARS engineers to initiate preliminary research efforts with funding from the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission. In each of the last 4 years, Dr. Whiting has demonstrated a prototype mechanical harvest system at his annual field day to more than 120 growers. Grower/industry feedback was solicited and has been incorporated into the structure of the current project. On 5 March, 2009, the framework and objective setting for this project was refined at a meeting attended by project PDs and 22 stakeholders from WA and OR representing the entire value chain, from nursery to retail.
We are committed to including stakeholder input as this project proceeds. We have strong documented support from the Washington, Oregon, and California sweet cherry industries and significant in-kind support from growers. Further, we have established a stakeholder advisory committee to provide direction and feedback on this project. The nursery industry, growers, packers/processors, and marketers/retailers are each represented on the advisory committee.
We will endeavor also to include input from various demographics throughout this project, integrating input from small and large-scale farming operations and from the entire west coast region. We will solicit input regularly and maintain an open-door policy to include new perspectives.
SCRI Industry Collaborators:
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