Cherries Are Coming

Cherries Are Coming! I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

With the good weather we have had in the northwest over the last few weeks the cherry crop has had a good chance to grow and mature. Oregon Cherry Growers Gip Redman says they are excited about this year’s crop.

REDMAN: There’ll be an ample supply for a change of cherries. But I think that the quality – we’ve been having some really ideal temperatures, dodged a few rain clouds and hail clouds. I think there’s been light damage meaning certain growers got hit or nicked but nothing major so far.

Cherry growers in the Dalles area began picking over the weekend and according to Redman other areas have already started. Driving around it was hard to believe really how many cherries were on trees.

REDMAN: You know I think the Chelan’s were a little heavier set than most. They probably bloomed when it was really some ideal pollinating weather and they have a tendency to over-set in those kinds of conditions and then those cherries can be a little bit smaller.

Good pruning practices can help bring up some nice size and so far prices for cherries are looking good.

REDMAN: The first prices are always the prices you wish you could get all season long and we learned the lesson last year with the short supply. We probably priced ourselves out of some markets and really slowed the movement down and changed a short crop into a bigger one.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.