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Bear Creek's bumper crop Jim Craven photo Maria Sanchez, of Phoenix, packs freshly harvested Bosc pears at Associated Fruit Co. in Phoenix Thursday. It's a bumper pear crop this year for mail-order giant Bear Creek Corp., but smaller outfits may have a hard time breaking even because of low prices and smaller yields. By GREG STILES Dry weather did little to hinder what is shaping up as a bumper crop of beautiful Comice pears for Bear Creek Corp. The fruit destined for mail-order gift packs, however, outshines the Fruit Growers League of Jackson County's winter pear mix, whose market prices may not match production costs. In just one day, Bear Creek packed 830 tons of pears from its Rogue Valley orchards. That's about 10 percent more than in any previous day, said Ron Henri, Bear Creek senior vice president for orchards. "By the time we're all done, we'll have harvested the equivalent of 700 truckloads - that's as in tractor and trailers - this season," Henri said. Picking began a week earlier than usual because of the generally warm weather and came right on the heels of a high-sugar peach harvest. "That makes it nice," Henri said, "because you don't lose momentum and keep your employees productively employed." The Comice pears not only are sized well for Bear Creek's purposes, but they also have a rosy blush that makes them all the more palatable to buyers. Warm - but not hot - days followed by cool evenings give the pears that trait. A steady diet of hot weather could burn the fruit, giving it a reddish-orange freckled look and reducing it to juice fodder. An abundant harvest keeps marketing folks on their toes. "This crop is going to challenge us into developing and expanding our marketing efforts," Henri said. Dennis Hofer, Fruit Growers' executive director, slices the pear a different way. "We shipped a million-and-a-half 40-pound boxes last year," Hofer said. "This year it will be 1.2 million, maybe less than that. This is one of those years where growers are lucky to break even. "When you're selling to supermarkets for 9 cents per pear that costs 14 cents to grow, you're not making money." He said foreign competition has taken a toll. "We're paying $9.40 an hour on average to our orchard workers and in South America they pay less than $5 a day," Hofer said. The drought caused a two-fold problem because some orchardists had to use water to prevent frost damage early in the year and later it hurt sizing. Phil Van Buskirk of the Oregon State University Extension Service said growers who haven't found a niche market are going to struggle. "No matter what agricultural commodity you're talking about, those willing to change and adapt to the wants and needs of consumers will survive," Van Buskirk said. "Special niche markets are lovely; that's how Bear Creek can continue to buy land and do the things it's doing. When you sell each pear for two or three bucks, you can do more." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.