First webinar of the 2026 International Orchard Meetup Series set for February 27
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EmailWhether you are a fruit grower with ample experience, modest experience or just getting started, the 2026 International Virtual Orchard Meetups will be the right setting for you to ask questions and find alternative solutions.
Fruit growers are welcome to join the fifth season of International Virtual Orchard Meetups. This series is sponsored by a national team of researchers and Extension educators, including Michigan State University Extension, that are working on a multi-year U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) project to evaluate different management practices to reduce crop loss from severe cold and heat. This large project is known as SPARC (Strengthening Pear and Apple Resilience to Climate).
Since 2021, the International Virtual Orchard Meetup program has brought together growers, researchers, government agents and Extension educators to have an international conversation about important tree fruit topics, connecting industry leaders across North America. The virtual orchard meetups will provide an opportunity to discuss challenges related to heat stress in summer and fall, identify opportunities to improve fruit quality, and remain profitable. They will be led by a panel of SPARC scientists and tree fruit growers from across the United States and Canada. Please plan to attend and join the conversation.
The first meetup will be conducted live on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. PST/1:30 p.m. EST. The webinar will last 90 minutes. The format will include brief presentations by two SPARC scientists followed by a packer/grower panel of industry leaders across North America. The meetup will conclude with an open discussion in a very inclusive virtual format. Viewers are invited to share solutions, ask questions and interact with scientists and panelists. The program is free of charge.
Register for the Virtual Orchard Meetup on February 27
Webinar agenda
Lee Kalcsits, PhD, Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, principal investigator and main lead for SPARC, will provide an overview of the SPARC project, a U.S. $6.75 million project that will run until 2028 and is funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s SCRI. Among research goals, the team is focusing on extreme cold and heat, studying a variety of issues including cold hardiness patterns for new apple and pear cultivars; flowering and the emergence from dormancy during spring; and how to mitigate sunburn and enhance red color during extreme heat. During his presentation, Kalcsits will share some of the experiments and analyses the team has focused on since the project started in late September of 2024.
Sonia Hall, PhD, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University, will summarize some of the results of a recent SPARC grower survey to help understand how heat and cold are affecting orchards and the strategies that growers are adopting (or might want to use) to minimize losses. The survey responses will help prioritize the research and extension goals over the course of the SPARC project.
Grower panelists from across North America
A group of invited packer/grower panelists from across multiple regions (Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, British Columbia and Ontario) will provide a brief “state of the fruit” update, describing what they are seeing in fruit coming out of storage and how those outcomes relate to conditions during the 2025 growing season.
- Garrett Henry, Douglas Fruit, WA
- David Machial, Fairview Orchards, BC
- Kirk Kemp, Algoma Orchards, Ontario
- Scott Henning, Lake Ontario Fruit, NY
- Leighton Rice, Rice Fruit Company, PA
- Chad Wimmers, Mount Adams Orchards, OR
- Jamie Kober, Riveridge Produce Marketing, MI
Whether you are a fruit grower with ample experience, one that has modest experience, or one that is just getting started, the 2026 International Virtual Orchard Meetups will be the right setting for you to ask questions and find alternative solutions. We hope you will be able to join us Friday, Feb. 27!
Future 2026 International Orchard Meetups
- Thursday, June 11, 2026
- Thursday, June 18, 2026
- Thursday, June 25, 2026
As everyone will be busy in the field in June, these meetups will be 4-5:30 p.m. PST/7-8:30 p.m. EST.
Collaborating institutions and planning team
- Kristy Grigg-McGuffin (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness)
- Sonia Hall (Washington State University)
- Lindsay King (British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food)
- Emily Lavely (Michigan State University Extension)
- Bernardita Sallato (Washington State University)
- Mario Miranda Sazo (Cornell Cooperative Extension Lake Ontario Fruit Program)
- and Daniel E. Weber (Penn State University)
