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Posted at: 10/07/2009 7:52 PM Marketing of New Minn. Apple Stirs Controversy
The university wanted an exclusive release to protect the quality of the new apple. Officials wanted to avoid a repeat of what happened with the Honey Crisp. Since any orchard can grow Honey Crisp there is no consistency when it comes to taste and color. The exclusive deal means other apple growers can either pay to join the co-op run by Pepin Heights or lease apple trees. Cindy Femling at Afton Apple Orchard is angry. She said, "We think we should be able to plant apple trees and grow them the way we want to and whom we want." Femling said by the time most growers found out about SweeTango, the deal with Pepin Heights was already signed. Bev Durgan, Dean at the University of Minnesota Extension, said, "We sent out a request for proposals and had more than one. We had multiple bids." Femling said she wasn't notified of the bidding process.
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A slice of SweeTango is what apple growers all over Minnesota thought they would get when the University of Minnesota introduced the new variety. But, Pepin Heights in Lake City was granted the exclusive license.