The following was printed July 29, 2009.

Economists have long considered the Yakima Valley's bountiful harvests a strong antidote to a recession. Studies have shown the Yakima Valley's economic engine is late to enter a national recession and slow to exit when conditions turn around.

However, for this recession, it's quite possible the Yakima Valley will come into and out of the economic downturn considerably less bruised than most of the nation.

That's certainly what's happening with regards to planned expansions proposed by a number of fruit companies. As many as five fruit companies are planning to expand their facilities in North Yakima for fruit packing and controlled atmosphere storage, adding some 500,000 square feet over the next few years.

That looks like a resilient economy to us.

The reason for the expansion is a particularly rosy outlook for apples, where world demand continues to put pressure on the industry to provide more fruit.

Though Yakima County will soon -- perhaps in the next two years -- see its national ranking as the No. 1 producer of apples usurped by neighboring Grant County, that doesn't mean the Valley has also yielded ground with respect to packing houses and storage facilities. About two-thirds of the state's apple crop is packed in the Yakima Valley.

Jobless figures also provide further proof that Central Washington's economy is weathering the deep troughs of the nation's recession. For the first time in nearly 20 years, Yakima County's jobless rate in June was below that of the state's.

Encouraging economic news is also occurring statewide. The head of the Washington Restaurant Association said Monday most of the group's members expect business to improve.

"The feeling is, 'All right, we can get through this,' " proclaimed the association's president, Anthony Anton.

Another indicator of economic growth is the housing market. Even here, signs are trending higher.

For the fourth consecutive month, there was a modest improvement for housing prices in May compared to the same month last year, according to national figures released Tuesday. The index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 17.1 percent in May from the same month in 2008. That's an improvement over April's dip of 18.1 percent. The index also revealed for the first time in three years a very small half percentage point increase in house prices.

Housing prices improved in May for 13 of the 20 metropolitan centers. Seattle, though, was among five that continued to show a drop.

In the Yakima area, the drop in home prices was not as steep, falling 5.2 percent in the first three months of 2009 to an average of $152,239.

Sales of new homes across the nation also are showing signs of a rebound, posting their largest monthly gain in nearly eight years in June. The Commerce Department on Monday said sales of new single-family homes rose 11 percent. Experts had predicted just a 3 percent increase. However, these encouraging sales figures are still down 21 percent from June 2008.

While economists try to decipher just when the national recession will actually bottom out, Yakima Valley's economy continues to show resiliency.

Those leading our agriculture-based industry also continue to exude a quiet confidence in the future. It's a fact of life here. We simply don't go wild when things are booming nor do we panic when things go awry. That's the way we would like to keep it.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.