The 2008 agreement between Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers in Wenatchee, WA, and Diamond Fruit Growers in Odell, OR, continues strong, with Oneonta handling exclusive sales and marketing for the longtime Oregon pear and cherry grower-shipper.

Dan Wohlford, national marketing representative for OSRG, said in late July that “Diamond Starr Growers” Bartletts and Starkrimson will start shipping around Aug. 18, followed by Green and Red d’Anjous, Forelles, Boscs, Seckels and Comices in September.

No newcomer to the pear industry, Diamond Fruit Growers is celebrating 100 years of operations in the Northwest. The cooperative, which is one of largest in the nation, is comprised of more than 100 pear and cherry growers who farm more than 6,000 acres of Hood Valley, OR, orchards.

“We are very excited about that and will be talking about the anniversary this season, too,” Mr. Wohlford said.

In discussing the new season, Mr. Wohlford said erratic weather has caused crop timing to be somewhat off this year, although he added that the Aug. 18 start for Bartletts is “a more normal harvest time than last year’s delayed crop.”

Pear volume is expected to remain steady, with a small increase being predicted for the Bartlett production.

“Overall, the pear crop seems to be mirroring what the Northwest crop is, shaping up to be down about 9 percent from last year but right at the five-year average.”

No changes are expected in Comice or Red d’Anjou numbers this year, he said.

Though summer weather has been a mixed bag, Mr. Wohlford said growers are “seeing a very clean crop this year,” and he added, “The bloom conditions this past spring were perfect. We expect to have a broad range of sizes for consumers. We did see some issues in growing regions around the Northwest in July, but the Hood River area escaped much of that, and we are seeing some great fruit on the trees.”

Two very popular advertising campaigns — snaQ and Pear the Taste — continue to keep movement brisk at retail. Mr. Wohlford said the snaQ program, aimed at youngsters, is a hit with both retailers and their customers.

“Retailers and consumers will see our very popular snaQ program with pears continue this year to capture the idea of pears being a healthy and portable snack alternative. Snaq School Bus tote bins and bags will appear first to tie in with back-to-school themes in stores.”

Oneonta’s graphic designer, Jill Morrison, said another marketing tool has proven valuable as well.

“As of late, we have had great success with the use of the QR codes on our packaging,” she said. Ms. Morrison said consumer traffic to the new videos posted on the OSRG website, starrranch.com, has doubled since the QR codes went onto packaging.