Oregon markets look favorably at pear harvest.

Publication: Mail Tribune (Medford, Oregon) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2006 Mail Tribune

Byline: Greg Stiles

Mar. 3--Pear markets have rebounded in a modest way -- enough to create something of an odd sight in the Rogue Valley these days: the planting of a new pear orchard.

"People are really looking more favorably on pears at this time," Naumes Inc. President Mike Naumes said.

Three years ago, foreign competition and rising land values led Naumes Inc. to reduce orchard acreage, pursue mining interests in California and sell orchard land in Washington.

Naumes crews are now planting 7,500 pear trees on a 60-acre site off of South Stage Road in south Medford between Voorhies Road and Kings Highway, with another 2,500 to follow.

"We have around 5,000 producing acres now," Vice President Laura Naumes said. "It used to be between 7,000 and 8,000 acres, but we're...

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