“I’ll be honest, watching this crop come together has been pretty exciting!” exclaimed James Michael, vice-president of marketing with Northwest Cherries/Washington State Fruit Commission. For cherry growers across the Northwest, spring temperatures followed considerable March snow build up. “That snow came after the start of spring. So while it didn’t seem to have caused cold damage, it sort of gathered the growing regions at the starting line. Once it warmed up, it warmed up everywhere and many varieties pushed into bloom together. Since then, we’ve seen the early districts pulling ahead while the later districts are trending more normal.”
The Northwest saw ideal weather for most of the bloom window, with a slight warming in the last few days. These conditions gave the bees less time to work while the pollen was fresh and viable and flower count per bud appears to be just slightly below average. “That means a nice set, with good distribution of fruit throughout the tree,” said Michael. “Between that and the aggressive pruning our growers do each winter, the resulting crop should be one of our best eating, dessert-quality crops in awhile.”
While it’s still too early to tell how much fruit will stay on the trees, based on the bloom, most shippers expect to see a crop similar in volume to last season. Current projections estimate 24.9 million boxes (20 pound equivalent) will ship from the Northwest this season within a somewhat compressed harvest window. “Due to spring weather conditions this isn’t our most spread out year, so I expect at this point that transitions between districts will occur more quickly. However, data from weather stations in districts doesn’t take in to account differences in variety, orchard architecture, rootstock, orchard topography and especially elevation,” explained Michael. “When all of these other factors are added together, we could expect to see more of a spread appear as the season progresses.”
When it comes to marketing sweet cherries, health messaging is increasingly taking the forefront. “Thanks to the growers themselves, we have USDA-approved health messages showing the inherent benefits of cherries,” reported Michael. As consumers recognize the benefits, there’s been an increase in messaging and promotions encouraging consumers to buy cherries when they’re fresh and in-season and then save them for use later in the year. “This ties in with the ‘count down clock’ effect that seems to make a big difference in sales volume. When consumers realize that cherry season is almost over, there’s a significant bump in purchase instances.”
With three feet of snow on the ground in late March and the first Independence Day cherry ads breaking on June 29, mother nature had many growers on edge. Since then, however, the race to harvest has begun with excitement and energy, and early season growers are accomplished drivers. “With the quality we’re seeing already on the trees, I’m expecting high consumer satisfaction and hopefully higher repeat purchases,” said Michael. “The cherry season is all about momentum, and as long as retailers get Northwest cherries in front of their shoppers, we’re anticipating that race to continue all the way to the finish line.”
