The organic cherry season is almost over again at Jacobs Fruit. On 11 June, the season kicked off at Hugo Jacobs' organic farm in Sint-Truiden, coinciding with the start of Flemish Bioweek. Sales picked up in the following week. "We're now working on the final variety, Sweetheart, which we'll likely finish harvesting next week," he says.
© Gunther De Vadder
"All in all, it's been a good season," says the organic grower, who cultivates 3 hectares of apples, 4 hectares of pears, and 3.5 hectares of cherries on a total of 10.5 hectares. "The yield was slightly lower than in other years but still comparable to last season. We picked fewer Kordia cherries in particular. I suspect this was due to poor pollination."
"Overall, we had good quality. We did have considerable issues with lice this year. That wasn't easy, but we managed to resolve it well in the end, and sales went quite smoothly. There's still solid demand for cherries during this period, including in the organic segment."
© Gunther De VadderFlemish agriculture minister Jo Brouns, Filip Fontaine (VLAM), and Hugo Jacobs at the start of the season
Hugo notes that there was more competition this year. "On the domestic market, we faced more competition than usual. There's a growing interest in organic cherries, which has pushed us to lower our price level compared to last year. That helps stimulate consumer demand, of course, but as a grower, you always hope for a bit more."
New top fruit season
Now the focus at Jacobs Fruit shifts back to the top fruit season. "Once the cherry harvest wraps up next week, we'll gradually transition to the new apple and pear crops. That also looks quite promising so far. First up is the summer apple, Delbare Estivale, which is currently sizing well. Then we move on to the pears, and quality is looking good there, too. We still have a few weeks to go, so it's too early to celebrate, but there have been very few issues with pear leaf blight. All in all, we're heading into the new season with a positive outlook."
For more information:
Hugo Jacobs
Jacobs Fruit
Heide 114
3800 Sint-Truiden, Belgium
Tel: +32 11 592464
[email protected]
www.jacobsfruit.be
