Better Market Opportunity

Cherry harvest has been underway now for the last few weeks, and while the cool wet weather has caused some losses for cherry growers, the overall production numbers for Washington this year still look promising. Looking ahead to how the peach harvest here in the state might be shaping up B. J. Thurlby, Washington State Fruit Commission president, says that the wet weather really hasn’t created an issue with the peach crop and that things are looking good. In fact, Thurlby says Washington’s peach and nectarine crops may have a better market opportunity this year.

THURLBY: The other thing that’s going on with peaches and nectarines which makes me think my growers here have an opportunity is the southern crops are finishing up as we speak - the fruit that’s been in the northeast portion of North America really from Ontario down into New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been hurt by the cold weather they had this spring and so they don’t have much of a crop. There’s not a lot in Michigan. So there’s some pockets out there where we’ve got opportunity I think to sell some of our Washington crop, where we a lot of years we don’t get that opportunity.

Thurlby says while early maturing peach harvest is well underway in Yakima county, the high point of peach and nectarine harvest in the state is generally closer to the middle of August.

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I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.