Treetop tech: Integrating technology into the art and science of farming discussed at WSTFA panel

YAKIMA — Growing apples, cherries, pears and stone fruit is a science, and growers can – and do – benefit from the options that technology provides. But it’s also an art, according to a panel discussion on orchards and technology at the 120th annual meeting of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. And while technology is an important tool, panelists said it’s only one tool and one that’s sometimes been oversold. Panelists said while technological changes hold a lot of promise, some of those promises haven’t panned out. “I think some companies came to us with technology that they claimed was proven in some sense that actually wasn’t ready for commercial deployment,” said Paul Cathcart of Columbia Orchards. “So we ended up paying for something, expecting it to perform at a certain level, when really (the developers) were kind of just hoping it would do something, or maybe it showed potential to do that. In a lot of cases I felt we were becoming partners in research and development for them, and in fact we were paying them to be their partner in research and development.”