April 2011 NHC NEWS A Monthly Bulletin of the Northwest Horticultural Council A BLINDING WHITE CLOUD A fine book was published last year, “The Hare with the Amber Eyes”, written by Edmund De Waal.  In it, he eloquently presents the story of his immediate ancestors, while providing gentle lessons in fine art, European history, religious bigotry, and the deracinational effects of wars on a once prominent family. One relative, Uncle Iggie, ends up in post-World War II Japan. The book describes the coming of spring: Iggie hated living in the hotel in the Denver-like part of Tokyo and within weeks had moved to his first house.  It was in Senzoku, on the edge of Senzoku Lake, in the south-eastern part of the city.  It was more of a pond, he told me – and, anxious to make it clear, a large Thoreau pond, not a small English pond.  He moved in winter, and had been told about the cherry trees that grew in the garden and round the water, but was still unprepared for the effect when spring came.  The drama built over the weeks in front of him, until there was such an abundance of blossom that he said it was like a blinding white cloud across your retina.  You lost foreground or background or distance and floated. ¨ TRADE In March, President Obama initiated a review of the federal agencies that support trade, exports, and overall competitiveness. The review is being organized by the Office of Management and Budget. The object is to analyze the scope and effectiveness of the various agencies and departments in terms of trade, while looking at areas of overlap and unnecessary spending.  This is a laudable process, which might result in real improvements. However, it is also a process fraught with the risk of doing mischief to the existing structure that supports U.S. agricultural exports. Since World War II, our country has helped feed and clothe the world.  This has brought great benefit to the people of other nations, but also to those Americans making their living on farms and ranches. While the major engine behind exported agricultural goods is the private sector, our government is needed to help inspect and grade; issue sanitary and phytosanitary certificates; negotiate trade disputes with other countries;  provide export market intelligence; and assist with international promotional activities. While not always pleased with each individual or actions, taken as a whole we have an excellent private/public system undergirding our nation’s agricultural export effort.  An effort that this year has reached historic levels of success. USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) work effectively in behalf of our growers and shippers of tree fruit, and all of their colleagues in other sectors comprising the broad sweep of U.S. agriculture. Keeping these agencies in their current orbits makes sense.  Deflecting them into a new super trade agency or to within the existing Department of Commerce most likely would be a serious mistake. The experience of the Department of Homeland Security shows the mere placing of every federal agency with ties to a specific subject under one large roof does not necessarily lead to a better result. ¨ Travel Mike Willett April 4-8 – Annual North American Plant Protection Organization’s Fruit Panel meeting, Salinas, California. April 18-22 – Meeting of EPA’s Pesticide Program Dialogue committee, Arlington, Virginia. Deborah Carter April 26-29 – National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting, Seattle, Washington. The False Heart I said to Heart, ‘How goes it?’  Heart replied: ‘Right as a Ribstone Pippin!’  But it lied. Hilaire Belloc Northwest Horticultural Council 105 South 18th Street, Suite 105 Yakima, Washington 98901, USA Voice: (509) 453-3193, Fax: (509) 457-7615 E-mail general@nwhort.org