Sweet cherries from the U.S. Pacific Coast are produce royalty, sought out each summer by consumers and retailers worldwide. The U.S. cherry industry has responded to these cravings by nearly doubling its shipping season since the 1990s, courtesy of early-season acreage in California and new varieties planted in Washington and Oregon. Here’s a roundup of what growers and distributors had to say about 2016’s seasonal highs and lows and what to expect this year.
Extending the Season Traditionally, like the fruit itself, the cherry season is short and sweet, lasting about eight weeks. Yet new varieties and plantings have extended the season up to 12 weeks, and sometimes even 16 weeks. This is perhaps the greatest accomplishment for the industry—and its greatest challenge—to maintain both quality and supply.
Consumers must be made aware of the longer season, as most are accustomed to the traditionally small window of opportunity. Steve Lutz, vice president of marketing at CMI Orchards, LLC in Wenatchee, WA, says this is where cooperation between grower-shippers, distributors, and retailers can make a huge difference. Consumers are also attracted to convenience, which is where the upright cherry pouch, packed with about two pounds of fruit and weighed at checkout, has increased sales. Coupled with recent advances in cherry sorting and grading technology to make it easier to guarantee quality, consumers are getting better fruit than ever before.
“We’re constantly adding new equipment,” reveals Wenatchee, WA-based Oneonta Trading Corporation’s marketing director Scott Marboe. “Our Unitec optical graders are amazing in the quality of product we can send to market.”
Weather, of course, is always a year-round concern related to quality: including winter chill hours, temper-atures during bloom, and warding off inclement weather during harvest. Labor concerns are tied to weather, too. If harvest windows are pushed up for the later varieties, seasonal workers may not be available yet. “Labor timing is always an issue during harvest,” notes Byron Borton, Yakima, WA-based Borton & Sons, Inc.’s chief visionary officer.
California: A Challenging Season Domestically, California cherries are always first to market. Harvest begins in April in Kings, Tulare, and Kern counties with early varieties such as Tulare and Brooks, and is followed by Fresno County, then Hollister, Gilroy, and Morgan Hill. More than half of California’s cherry acreage lies south of Sacramento, in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. Chelan and Coral varieties kick off the season here, followed by Bing and Rainier, according to the California Cherry Board.
Sweet cherries from the U.S. Pacific Coast are produce royalty, sought out each summer by consumers and retailers worldwide. The U.S. cherry industry has responded to these cravings by nearly doubling its shipping season since the 1990s, courtesy of early-season acreage in California and new varieties planted in Washington and Oregon. Here’s a roundup of what growers and distributors had to say about 2016’s seasonal highs and lows and what to expect this year.
Extending the Season Traditionally, like the fruit itself, the cherry season is short and sweet, lasting about eight weeks. Yet new varieties and plantings have extended the season up to 12 weeks, and sometimes even 16 weeks. This is perhaps the greatest accomplishment for the industry—and its greatest challenge—to maintain both quality and supply.
Consumers must be made aware of the longer season, as most are accustomed to the traditionally small window of opportunity. Steve Lutz, vice president of marketing at CMI Orchards, LLC in Wenatchee, WA, says this is where cooperation between grower-shippers, distributors, and retailers can make a huge difference. Consumers are also attracted to convenience, which is where the upright cherry pouch, packed with about two pounds of fruit and weighed at checkout, has increased sales. Coupled with recent advances in cherry sorting and grading technology to make it easier to guarantee quality, consumers are getting better fruit than ever before.
“We’re constantly adding new equipment,” reveals Wenatchee, WA-based Oneonta Trading Corporation’s marketing director Scott Marboe. “Our Unitec optical graders are amazing in the quality of product we can send to market.”
Weather, of course, is always a year-round concern related to quality: including winter chill hours, temper-atures during bloom, and warding off inclement weather during harvest. Labor concerns are tied to weather, too. If harvest windows are pushed up for the later varieties, seasonal workers may not be available yet. “Labor timing is always an issue during harvest,” notes Byron Borton, Yakima, WA-based Borton & Sons, Inc.’s chief visionary officer.
California: A Challenging Season Domestically, California cherries are always first to market. Harvest begins in April in Kings, Tulare, and Kern counties with early varieties such as Tulare and Brooks, and is followed by Fresno County, then Hollister, Gilroy, and Morgan Hill. More than half of California’s cherry acreage lies south of Sacramento, in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. Chelan and Coral varieties kick off the season here, followed by Bing and Rainier, according to the California Cherry Board.
Dick Reiman, president of River City Produce Sales in Sacramento, says the 2016 harvest was challenging. “By the time we got up to the Lodi area, there had been nine rains,” he recalls. Heavy rains led to fruit cracking, affecting yields and marketability, including exports. A 30-year veteran of the industry, Reiman says the state is set for a rebound. “The varieties we have are working very well right now. We’re looking forward to a very good season in 2017.”
Washington: Good Volume & High Quality The Washington cherry season begins with Chelans, typically reaching market around Memorial Day. Bing harvests start about two weeks later, followed by Lapins, then late-season Skeena, Sweetheart, and Regina varieties.
Washington growers are investing in more early- and mid-season cherries. “We’re planting more Corals, Cristalinas, and Skeena,” confirms Oneonta’s Marboe. Coral is an early variety made popular in California. Cristalina, developed in British Columbia, is an early variety with highly-rated split resistance.
Like California, weather was a factor in last year’s bloom, affecting pollination, and resulting in a slightly smaller harvest than 2015. The 2016 Washington crop was also early, mainly due to a warmer winter, translating to high June shipment volume. Quality, however, was superb. “It was one of the best seasons I can recall in the last 34 years,” enthuses Marboe. “Excellent quality, enormous size, and well received at store level. I don’t recall ever getting so many notes, emails, and social media accolades from satisfied consumers as we did this season.”
“There were some rain incidents in July during late season harvest,” recounts Eric Borton, Borton & Son’s vice president of international sales and marketing. But high-tech equipment weeded out any undesirable fruit. “The defect-sorting capability we have significantly improved our ability to still put up a quality pack, continue to market cherries with confidence, and provide the opportunity for a return to our growers.”
Mike Preacher, director of marketing and customer relations at Domex Superfresh Growers in Yakima, says technology is definitely keeping more cherries flowing from the Northwest. “Our cherry lines in Yakima and Wenatchee both utilize optical scanning systems to size and sort the fruit, and state-of-the art fruit hydrocooling technology,” he explains. “This equip-ment ensures that consumers get a consistent eating experience, great freshness, and extra shelf life. It also delivers better grower returns, thanks to more efficient production and accurate sizing.”
Oregon: A Grand Finale Bings are the primary sweet cherry in Oregon, where the variety originated in the 1800s. As in Washington, Chelan is the main early variety followed by Lapins, Sweetheart, Skeena, Kordia, Regina, and Bing.
Sweet cherry production was up slightly for 2016, and harvests, like in Washington, were early due to warmer weather. “We had some rain early- to mid-season and some heat late,” comments Jon Bailey, who manages shipments from Orchard View, Inc., in The Dalles for the Oppenheimer Group.
Like others in the business, Orchard View installed a high-tech 48-line sorter, which Bailey says made a big difference in 2016. “Because of the optical capabilities, we were able to still run all of our fruit, where previously we would have had to leave a lot on the tree,” he explains. “It enabled us to run some fruit that most likely we would not have packed with human-only sorting.”
Export Ups & Downs In addition to their most favored stone fruit status in the United States, cherries continue to enjoy an international following, especially in high-value Asian and European markets. Export volume reached nearly 160 million pounds, from January to September 2016, according to U.S. trade data. Although volume was down slightly, due to rain affecting the California crop, these shipments still amounted to about 25 percent of the total supply from California, Wash-ington, Oregon, and Michigan.
Canada and South Korea are leading export markets; China and Hong Kong are top importers accounting for more than 20 percent of U.S. fresh cherry exports. “The addition of more charter flights to China for cherries helped expand export opportunities,” confirms Eric Borton.
Exports increased to Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia in 2016, while the high-value Japanese market also maintained its volume. Population growth in Thailand and Vietnam are ripe for future shipments. “We will continue to ship as much fruit to these markets as possible,” states Marc Pflugrath, director of export sales at CMI Orchards in Wenatchee, “as they are usually willing to pay top dollar for large size, high-quality cherries.”
Projections & Problems Cherry growers along the Pacific Coast always hope for the right mix of moisture and temperature. After the early harvests of 2016, along with late-season rains in California and wet spots in Washington and Oregon, growers are hoping for cooler, drier conditions.
Although weather at bloom and harvest largely determine crop potential, positive signs were spotted earlier in the year—it was both wet and cold, “Perfect for what we need,” says Reiman.
No matter how the weather turns and the trade winds blow, U.S. sweet cherry growers are well-positioned to harvest consistent volumes of high-quality crops. “The cherry future is bright; we will continue to produce 20 million-plus box crops, giving consumers around the world access to great fruit,” predicts Domex Superfresh’s Preacher.
