Written by Paige Beuhler and Ines Hanrahan, Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, 7/29/2024
This May, WTFRC Executive Director, Ines Hanrahan, led a group of 11 Washington state industry members on a tour in the Netherlands and Belgium to visit technology companies, growers, research stations, and universities. Their goal was to stimulate adoption by seeing new automation technology in action. The group visited collaboration partners, exchanged knowledge, and obtained insights about some of the innovations and research that are taking place within Dutch horticulture. From memorable visits to Delphy, Agromanager, and Optiflux, to interesting meet ups with technicians, engineers, and scientists from BBLeap, Munckhof Fruit Tech Innovators, AgroCares, and Wageningen University and Research, the tour took the Commission to some of the most inventive and inspiring companies within their respected fields.
In July, the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, board members, and Washington industry members hosted a group of growers, extension educators, scientists, and startup companies from the Netherlands. The purpose of the visit was to educate Dutch farmers and industry members of the tree fruit landscape in Washington state and foster relationships to enable future collaboration.
Both trips were funded by a Specialty Crop Block Grant supporting the Orchard of the Future initiative. Highlights of both trips can be found on our social media channels and action items will be communicated to the industry during the winter meeting cycle.
Contact
Paige Beuhler
Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission
paigeb@treefruitresearch.com
509-665-8271 Ext 2
Funding and acknowledgements
Thank you to the WSDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
