Unseasonably warm weather early this year, followed by a cold snap in April, has devastated much of the nation's tart cherry crop. Michigan, the nation's largest tart cherry producer, has been affected the most, and although crops in western states will bolster this year's totals, 2012 national production will be significantly down from 2011.
“As a producing region, the Midwest has had one of its worst years in a long time because of Mother Nature,” said Perry Hedin, executive director of the Cherry Industry Advisory Board. In addition to the Midwest, New York also experienced unfavorable weather.
The problem was a warm start to the year with unseasonably high temperatures in March. That warm weather caused cherry buds to develop too early, so when freezes hit in April, much of the crop was lost.
U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates have national production significantly down from last season. This year's projected national tart cherry harvest is 73.1 million pounds while the previous season's production was 231.7 million pounds. The hardest hit state was Michigan which suffered a drop from 157.5 million pounds in 2011 to an estimated 5.5 million pounds this year, though Hedin noted that optimistic estimates could bump this year's figure to as much as 10 million pounds.
“New York usually produces about 8 million pounds, and they will have about a million pounds; Wisconsin usually has about six or seven million pounds and they'll have about half a million pounds this year,” said Hedin. “The tart cherry crops in these states have just been decimated.”
Western states, however, were spared such unfavorable weather and, along with some stored inventories, will shore up national production.
Tim Polehn, an Oregon cherry grower with Polehn Farms, said the fruit in his state has been doing well.
“We had some rains early on, but the season is going well now and we've got really good quality,” he said. USDA estimates put Oregon's production at 2.5 million pounds, the same as it was last season. But despite good production, Polehn noted that domestic prices have lagged. “I'm just glad that we export most of our cherries and we don't have to sell at domestic prices,” he said.
Aside from the Midwest and New York, most other cherry-producing states, like Oregon, look to be on track for average-to-good seasons in terms of volume.
“States like Utah and Washington were not hit,” said Hedin. “There will be good crops for most of the western states.”
In Washington, a moderate winter and warm spring contributed to an excellent bloom. Additionally, no major weather interruptions during the bloom period made for good pollination. That's contributed to a projected production for 2012 that's over six million pounds more than last year's production. While 20.9 million pounds of tart cherries were harvested in Washington last year, this year's totals are anticipated to reach 27.0 million pounds. Fruit sizes were also reported to be increasing as the season progresses with much of the remaining fruit reaching sizes larger than 10 row.
USDA projections put Utah's production at 34 million pounds, slightly lower than last year's haul of 35.0 million pounds.
