Wrapping Up The Cherry Crop

Wrapping Up The Cherry Crop. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

The 2011 cherry crop is quickly slipping into the history books and BJ Thurlby with Northwest Cherries and Washington State Fruit Commission is pleased with the way the entry will read.

THURLBY: The cherry season really ran about 88 days this year and our last shipments went out kind of over the Labor Day weekend. So we’re pretty much finished and just kind of wrap up the numbers and look at the size of the crop and we’ve got a pretty good feel for it. You know the crop came in right around 18-million boxes, maybe a little bigger and it gave us one of those crops that was spread out, had great quality, the growers did a great job and I think overall this things going to go down in the annal of the cherry business as one those better seasons so that’s good.

The cool spring pushed the cherry season a couple of weeks and that is also causing the apple crop to be a bit late. Thurlby says they using this interesting twist for other fruit growers.

THURLBY: For the first time ever we have a new pitch for our peach and nectarine program that we’re pushing out across the United States and that’s we’ve got great apples from the state of Washington on the way but they are 10 to 14 days late. In that window, use that shelf space to promote peaches and nectarines until our apple crop comes on. Kind of a funny approach but it’s a reality approach and it’s one people have been listening to.

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