Automation and innovation drive a strong 2024-25 pear season for Stemilt

Family-owned fruit grower Stemilt is leveraging high-tech automation and varietal innovation after a challenging 2023 pear season. The Washington-based company is running its new UNITEC packing line at full capacity, as the state experienced a 35 percent year-on-year production uptick. 

According to Marketing Director Brianna Shales, the expanded investment, which includes fully automated sorting and bagging, has improved labor planning during peak season. While last year’s lower volumes limited testing the line’s capabilities, the latest campaign’s improved yields have allowed Stemilt to “see what it can really do”.

“This year is a different story,” Shales tells FreshFruitPortal.com. “We have a large crop and so we're really able to maximize the efficiency side of the line along with making sure that we're packing a high-quality box and doing a lot more automation in pear packing than we had done before.”

The automated system includes cup-flipping technology to image both sides of each pear, further securing quality standards and pack-out efficiency.

Stemilt’s pears stay mostly at home, with 80 percent of production shipped domestically. This, Shales notes, includes Canada due to supply chain similarities. 

On the organic front, improved crop volume this season has the company “looking forward to working with retailers to build more demand” in that category.

Organic pear acreage continues to grow in the Evergreen State, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Over 90 percent of the nation’s organic pears are produced in the state.

Stemilt’s main traditional varieties include Bartlett, Anjou, and Bosc, with Red Anjou in smaller volumes. This year’s crop has been characterized by high quality and minimal pest pressure, although Shales notes that Bartlett sizing is trending smaller, which is increasing demand for bagged fruit.

“Quality is pretty strong,” she says. “We have really good growing conditions that led to clean pears.”

Come on, get Happi

Stemilt is also betting on varietal innovation and modern orchard design to increase yield and consumer interest. The company is expanding production of its proprietary Happi pear, now on its third commercial season. The cultivar is the result of the firm’s Ontario program breeding efforts.

The Happi pear offers disease resistance, particularly to the bacterial fire blight and psylla, a sap-feeding insect that causes mold growth on the fruit. The variety, currently only available in the US, has a unique ripening profile designed to address consistency issues that have historically plagued pear sales.

“It ripens differently than a Bartlett or an Anjou and has a unique texture and flavor,” Shales adds. “We’re really excited about the potential to help turn more people back onto pears.”

Shales cites data by the Peat Bureau Northwest indicating that consumers want to eat pears within two days of purchase—posing a challenge if fruit isn’t adequately ripened before it reaches shelves.

“We need to do more education with the retailer to help people know when the pear is perfectly ready to eat and make that as simple as possible,” Shales stresses.

Retailers have responded well to Stemilt’s Rushing Rivers branding, which highlights the fruit’s origin in the Wenatchee and Entiat River Valleys. Ripening is managed through Stemilt’s RipeRite program, using two Thermal Tech ripening rooms to pre-condition fruit such as Anjou and Red Anjou pears for more predictable in-store performance.

“The idea is to make sure that they’re going to arrive at grocery stores within just a few days of ripening so that the consumer can take them home and enjoy them soon after purchase,” Shales says.

Additionally, Stemilt is implementing modern orchard systems, such as trellised planting, to “help increase the amount of bins that we harvest per acre,” says Shales. “Increased yields are a really big aspect of pear farming and why it’s been a challenge for growers.”

Looking forward, Shales emphasized Stemilt’s commitment to innovation and leadership in the category.

“Pears have long been the long game, and we’re really trying to figure out how to innovate faster with them,” she says.

*All photos courtesy of Stemilt.

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