WASHINGTON GROWN IS GOING INTERNATIONAL!
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY MATTHEW WEAVER, CAPITAL PRESS
Season 10 of Washington Grown began airing on January 3, 2023. Watch the full episode here.Read the Capital Press article by Matthew Weaver below or go here.
The TV show “Washington Grown” will follow the state’s agricultural exports overseas during an upcoming season.
“Exports are critical for so many commodity products in Washington,” said Chris Voigt, executive director of the state’s potato commission, which helps produce the show. “We want to tell that story.”
“Most farmers don’t have the opportunity to meet their customers face-to-face,” said Kara Rowe, the “Washington Grown” producer. “This is the next best thing, we’ll actually be able to show them their customers.”
The TV show’s crew will travel to Vietnam and Mexico. They’ll film the state’s products in markets and grocery stores and talk with chefs about preparing Washington products.
They’ll also film crops as they’re unloaded at ports and the “cold chain” — the refrigerated production, storage and distribution network, Voigt said.
“We’ve talked about ag exports in different segments and episodes, but we’ve really never focused on it,” Voigt said.
“We’re shooting the international part of it first, and then this summer we’ll meet with the growers growing for those markets and get their perspective,” Voigt said.
He expects footage to include restaurant or store workers buying produce from a traditional Vietnamese marketplace.
“They will literally load 30 cases of apples or potatoes on the back of their scooter, piled 10 feet high, and drive down the road to their restaurant or little market to resell it,” Voigt said. “We’re ... going to put the camera on another scooter and just kind of follow them.”
A typical season of 13 episodes costs $450,000 to produce. The next season will have 14 episodes. The show is using Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding through the state Department of Agriculture to help with the costs. The department will use the video to promote Washington products overseas, Voigt said.
Exports the show will highlight include apples, pears, wheat, potatoes, onions and wine.
The commission will promote french fries and fresh potatoes during the trip.
The show’s producers also traveled to Orlando, Fla., in October for the Global Produce and Floral Show and spoke with customers from such countries as the Netherlands and Taiwan, Rowe said.
The season will “connect the dots” for Washington consumers, Rowe said.
