Not Too Hot & Not Too Cold For Cherries

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

BJ Thurlby with NW Cherries tells us that spring weather conditions here in the Northwest have been optimal for cherry growers.

THURLBY: You know, it hasn't been too hot but it hasn't been too cold, and when we have years like this we see the trees actually bloom all at once which is a good thing. Because in recent years we've actually had years where half the tree will bloom and then seven days later the other half will bloom and that causes nothing but problems for my growers. From a standpoint of weather, warmth, good bloom weather, bee activity from start to finish - we're still blooming in higher elevations around the growing region - it's been optimal. The growers are pretty happy.

So how happy are they?

THURLBY: Now what I'm hearing from most growers is that there's a good set and so many early districts have seen cherries come out on their trees, but overall I'm also hearing there's fewer flowers per bud, and when we do see years like that we end up a lot of times seeing cherries really well spaced throughout the tree, which is a good thing.

Though there aren't as many cherries on the trees as there were in 2012, growers are seeing more fruit on the trees this year as opposed to last year.

THURLBY: And that's a good thing because that was a very short crop. We only packed 14-million boxes. So, from that standpoint I think it's a positive thing for the consumer and for the grower.

Thurlby reports California cherry growers are having a tough time this year and are expected to be down by 3 to 4 million boxes.

THURLBY: That's a sad thing for the California growers, but it's a win I think for the Northwest growers and certainly the growers on the early end of the deal where they're going to be picking in June.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.