Oregon's cherry season is due to begin soon, with growers preparing for harvest by the end of this week. Growers in The Dalles say the season is starting a little later than usual and a few days behind the first Washington cherries, due to generally cooler conditions. However, temperatures have now rebounded and are expected to provide excellent conditions as the harvest season starts. Karin Gardner, Director of Corporate Communications for Oppy, described the situation with Orchard View, Oppy's partner grower.
"Oppy markets fruit grown by Orchard View Cherries on 3,400 acres in The Dalles, Oregon," she said. "We plan to begin shipping on or around June 15 - which is maybe a week behind the Washington crop - because temperatures in The Dalles have been five to eight degrees cooler than in the cherry growing regions across the state line. Recently, the weather has been good, with temperatures in the mid 70s. We see some lows in the 50s at night coming up, which will help the cherries really color up nicely."
"Orchard View’s volume is up about 15 percent over last year, though the Pacific Northwest as a whole is about 10 percent down," Gardner added.
Plenty of room for promotions
Retailers and consumers are greatly anticipating the Pacific Northwest cherry season in the aftermath of the devastation wreaked upon the California crop. Cherry growers in California have suffered tremendously and the market is short on fruit, but growers in Oregon and Washington are hoping they can fill some of that void. Although retailers had to pull a number of promotions that were based on a potentially record-breaking California crop, there is still room for promotions in the upcoming months.
"With the unfortunate shortage of California cherries, retailers and consumers alike are eager for the Northwest cherry season to begin," Gardner observed. "To start, we’re focusing on Canada Day and Independence Day ads and promotions to help our customers accommodate the pent-up demand for cherries. Both are perfect holidays for celebrating with friends, and cherries can be a huge part of that. Beyond early July, the Oppy business development team has arranged for promotions to pulse in throughout the season, helping assure steady distribution and marketing."
10 years of partnership
This year marks the 10th year that Oppy has partnered with Orchard View. The companies are reflecting on their partnership and say it has been a very successful one. "This season we’re celebrating our 10th year of partnership with the Bailey family at Orchard View," Gardner shared. "Orchard View’s brand tagline is 'Pick your moments'... and 10 years makes for a lot of moments indeed! Over time we’ve enjoyed an excellent relationship and gone to market together year after year with excellent fruit that satisfies and delights our customers and their shoppers."
She concluded by providing an insight into the effort Orchard View makes to grow their cherries, "In the off season, the Orchard View team continues to invest in their orchards, planting new varieties in higher density to assure efficiency, volume and quality in the orchard, and sustain growth and innovation into the future."
For more information:
Karin Gardner
Oppy
Ph: +1 (206) 499-7440
karin.gardner@oppy.com
www.oppy.com