WA 38 FAQs

Written by Kevin Brandt, Proprietary Variety Management

Information for Growers

Where can trees be purchased?

• Trees can be purchased through any participating Northwest Nursery Improvement Institute (NNII) member nursery. There are currently 13 member nurseries to which 11 of them are participating in growing and selling WA 38 cv. trees.
• These nurseries include:
  • Biringer Nursery
  • Brandt’s Fruit Trees
  • C&O Nursery
  • Cameron Nursery
  • Gold Crown Nursery (email), tel. 509-669-5790
  • Helios Nursery, tel. 509-888-7244
  • Mike & Brian’s Nursery
  • ProTree Nursery
  • Tree Connection
  • Van Well Nursery
  • Willow Drive Nursery

When are trees available and how many are already sold?

• Trees are available to all Washington State growers from 2018 forward.
• Just over 6.6 million trees have been planted or topworked between 2017 and 2018.

Can I propagate my own trees?

• Yes, under specific conditions and licensing.
• Propagation material may not be taken from orchard trees or newly purchased or planted nursery stock.  Material must be obtained from virus certified material from one of the member nurseries listed above.
• Grower must obtain a WA 38 grower agreement from the NNII nursery as well as a one-time propagation agreement from NNII.   nwnurseryii@gmail.com
• Available budwood from the certified NNII member nurseries will be distributed in the following order:
  • First – to all NNII nurseries for fall, spring, or bench graft propagations to produce certified trees for subsequent sale by the recipient nursery.
  • Second – for topworking by NNII-contracted WA 38 fruit growers.
  • Third – for fruit grower tree production (budding of rootstock liners or bench grafts) when NNII member nurseries are unable to meet demand.
• Grower tree production may be contracted out to a third party nursery outside of NNII. However, this nursery must be a nursery in good standing and must participate in the state certification program. A separate one-time propagation agreement will be granted to the nursery of choice by NNII.

How much is the royalty and how do I pay it?

• WA 38 cv. tree royalty – $1.00 USD. This amount is payable upon the purchase of trees / budwood or payable upon specific date specified within the one-time propagation agreement.
• WA 38 cv. production royalty – 4.75% of total box sale price if the price is at or above $20.00 USD. There is no production royalty if the box sells for less than $20.00. This amount will be deducted from the packing house returns to the grower. The packing house / marketing desk will be responsible for remitting this amount to Proprietary Variety Management (PVM).

Where can I sell fruit?

• Washington State grown fruit can be marketed anywhere in the world. There are no restrictions as to where your fruit can be sold.

Can I sell my own fruit?

• Yes, under specific licensing.
• The selling of one’s own fruit is termed ‘farmgate sales’ within the WA 38 grower agreement. Specific terms for farmgate sales can be found within sections 1.9, 3.3, and Schedule 1 of the WA 38 cv. Non-Exclusive Grower Agreement.
• In addition to the standard tree royalty to $1.00/tree, a production royalty of $2.00 USD per tree per year will also be assessed beginning in the second year after planting.
• If you wish to sell your fruit through both farmgate and commercial packing sales, two grower agreements must be completed.

Who can pack my fruit?

• Any packer within the state of Washington is eligible for a WA 38 cv. packing license.
• Fruit delivered to a licensed packing house will require a copy of the grower’s Non-Exclusive Grower Agreement.
• The amount of fruit delivered must reasonably match the estimated production from previous purchases of certified material in order to ensure that all tree propagation was as agreed to in WA 38 cv. contracts.

Where can I get the most up to date information on such information?

• Up to date information can be found within the NNII website www.nniifruittrees.org and the Cosmic Crisp^® website www.cosmiccrisp.com
• You may subscribe to the Fruit Matters newsletter found at the bottom of the tree availability page within the Cosmic Crisp™ website in order to receive announcements of upcoming tree field days and other WSU Extension events.
• You can also sign up to receive pertinent updates and newsletters within the ‘Get Updates from Us!’ section also listed on the Cosmic Crisp^® tree availability website homepage.

Is there a propagation fee if I want to build my own trees?

• There is no propagation fee to build your own trees. However, there is a $0.25 industry support fee per tree built. This fee will be used by NNII as it sees fit to help better the fruit tree industry. The individual nursery providing the propagation wood will also have a fee associated with their cost for production, collection, and distribution of the material which will be up to the nurseries discretion.