US: Northwest Cherry crop report

The first Northwest Cherries will be harvested this weekend and by late next week the harvest of Chelans and Early Bings is expected to be in full swing! There were light rains in the production districts on Monday and Tuesday this week. It is important to note that growers are only worried about the Chelan variety right now as the Bing crop and other late varieties are not far enough along to be affected by the rain.

As of this morning, most Chelan variety growers think they will be fine. Damage is minimal with growers reporting up to 10% damage on the high side. The map below is highlighted to show where the largest portion of Chelan variety cherries are produced.

The Chelan variety makes up 2 to 3% of the crop annually. It’s safe to say that there will be a full crop in the Northwest. Expectations are for just over 21 million 20 lb. equivalent boxes this year.

There has been unseasonably cool weather this week in the Northwest. The past several days have averaged 54 degrees F (12 degrees C) and the growing districts continue to spread out with the later cherries getting even later. Again, this is going to lead to a great many promotion opportunities in late July and August. Below is a growing degree day analysis chart that shows that the growing districts, while earlier than last year remain well separated, which should result in an orderly harvest.

In 2009, many districts had accumulated equal heat units which led to a compressed harvest. This is not being seen in 2012.

As you can see by the monthly volume estimate below that growers are expecting an outstanding crop this year. Lastly, there have been queries regarding the California crop. They had a little rain on Monday, but as it remained cool there was no real damage to their Bings. The growers there are expecting 10 days of good weather and this should help push the crop forward as cool weather and a challenging labor environment have the crop coming off a bit slower
than expected. They expect to harvest another 3 million boxes over the next couple of weeks. Currently, demand is exceeding supply especially on larger sized cherries.

For more information please visit www.northwestcherries.net