Some pear growers say they may face bankruptcy following a tough season last year.
The people who grow Oregon’s official state fruit in the Hood River Valley could be saddled with debt or forced to close up shop entirely after a disastrous pear season.
“Our situation is beyond dire,” said Lesley Tamura, a pear grower and chair of the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers.
That’s prompted Gov. Tina Kotek to ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue a natural disaster designation for Hood River and Wasco counties. That designation would make emergency low-interest loans available to growers suffering from financial losses.
“Without rapid disaster relief deployment, many of these family farms face bankruptcy ahead of the 2026 harvest,” Kotek wrote in a letter. “The consequences of a failed season in this valley will be felt in grocery aisles nationwide and in the continued viability of the American family farm.”
Pear growers estimate they’re looking at $40 to $45 million in financial losses. So far, they have received less than $150 per bin of pears. They estimate it costs about $300 per bin to produce, according to the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers.
Oregon is among the top pear-producing states. The state’s pear industry produced 199,800 tons of crop in 2024, with production worth roughly $120 million.
In 2025, that number went up to 271,720 tons, a 36% increase, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. But the economics of agriculture means growing more fruit does not necessarily lead to making more money — at times, the opposite can happen.
Last year’s harvest season began with a glut of Bartlett pears. It didn’t help that the Del Monte pear cannery in Yakima, Washington, closed last year — forcing growers to compete in an already-saturated fresh pear market.
D’Anjou pears were hit with a bad infestation of pear psylla — an insect that feeds on pear trees and leaves behind a sticky goo on leaves and pears — rendering those pears unsellable.
The pear psylla pest is an annual problem in the Pacific Northwest, but it was worse than usual last year. And because those losses are not fully covered by disaster relief or traditional crop insurance, growers aren’t able to fully recoup their money.
“We desperately need members of Congress, Governor Kotek and the Oregon Legislature to step up and do everything possible to save our industry,” Tamura said in a statement. “When family farms go under, the rural economy and community that they support goes with them, including thousands of jobs and housing for employees and their families.”
Pear growers say regulatory pressures, such as the state’s farmworker overtime law and updated farmworker housing guidelines, are adding another layer of challenges.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.