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Cherry growers eligible for second round of CFAP

For the first time cherry growers will be able to access direct payments from the updated Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Sixth generation apple and cherry grower Isaiah Wunsch tells Brownfield cherry sales this year were limited by Spotted Wing Drosophila pressure and processing disruptions caused by COVID.

“My sense is that Michigan’s cherry growers probably lost somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of their crop due to quality deterioration.”

He says having to operate at partial capacity with on-farm housing, in orchards and at packing facilities caused significant logistical challenges and putting a price on that will take time.

“One of the things that’s going to be a challenge for us is showing the economic impact or damage of the pandemic on our industry because a lot of the market and pricing factors are still kind of up in the air.”

Farm Service Agency director for Michigan Joel Johnson tells Brownfield cherries along with most other specialty crops are included in CFAP2 by using a sales based approached.  Producers will receive direct payments using a percentage factor that ranges between eight and 11 percent based on their 2019 gross sales.

Wunsch says a number of headwinds have been hurting the overall tart cherry market for nearly a decade including dumping from Turkey which has dropped grower prices by about 80 percent and extreme pest pressures.  His farm is now converting acreage to fresh sweet cherries and vertically integrating to manage through market turmoil.