Cherry prices for growers could remain high in light of the Michigan Cherry Committee’s tart estimate well below a typical year.
Following spring frosts and cold temperatures, the Northwest Michigan region is projecting a yield of roughly 40 million pounds — far below the historical average of 100 to 200 million pounds.
This region is expected to generate around 40 million pounds of that total, with just 4 million pounds coming from west-central Michigan and 2 million pounds in southwest Michigan.
“I should have a decent sweet crop, “ said farmer Greg Williams who has owned and leased 370 acres near Cedar, including about 300 acres of tarts and sweets and 60 acres of apples and peaches. “I’ve got a 30% across-the-board tarts.”
Williams said his sweet varieties are at about 75 to 80% percent a usual crop. However damage to his cherry crop has been hit and miss. He sells fresh fruit at two roadside stands, one in Cedar and the other in Centerville Township.
“I have Balatons at one site that are great and not far away there are sites with no fruit,” he said.
Williams grows 100,000 lbs. of the firm, dark red, sweet-tart sour cherry from Hungary.
The count is significant in that it is used to determine how much fruit growers have to “set aside” under a federal marketing order.
The Red Tart Cherry Marketing Order (7 CFR Part 930) authorizes volume controls, quality standards, and researchpromotion programs for tart cherries grown in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Administered by the Cherry Industry Administrative Board (CIAB) and the USDA, it stabilizes market conditions by adjusting available supply to meet demand.
On the upside, a light tart crop will likely make it a grower’s market. Last year some cherry processors were paying up to 60 cents a pound or more for tart cherries — a very high amount in historical terms — and growers said this year’s low harvest should generate similar prices.
“I think we’re looking at $1 a pound for tarts … and 38 to 40 cents per pound for briners,” Williams said.
Jim Eckerle, a Suttons Bay cherry grower in the area, said tart cherries are a very light crop this year, while sweet cherries should come in fairly well.
Brown rot, he added, is a concern growers are contending with heading into harvest, as humidity and warm temperatures make breeding ground for the fungus.
Jim Nugent, who farms more than 40 acres of tarts and sweets south of Suttons Bay, said sweet cherries — which come on before tarts — have been variable but generally respectable this season. Not every variety was affected equally, and sweets weren’t hit as hard by the spring frosts, with harvest getting underway soon.
“It’s been really hot and things are ripening rapidly,” he said.
Tarts are a lighter and more variable crop, Nugent said, with yields improving further north in the county, where proximity to Lake Michigan slowed bud development enough to reduce frost damage during the April 20 cold event.
Recent weather has added another layer of difficulty. Extreme rainfall in the Northport area over the past several days is expected to create challenges as harvest approaches — conditions favorable for brown rot, primarily a sweet cherry concern, and for spotted wing drosophila.
Nugent said he hasn’t been seeing heavy spotted wing pressure yet, but as fruit enters the harvest window, growers will need to stay vigilant. The pest thrives in high humidity and wet conditions.
Despite the challenges, he expects the short crop to translate to strong prices for both tarts and sweets.
“There are still ways to go to get this crop off the trees and into the market,” he said.
