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Cherry production yet to be determined

President of the Cherry Marketing Institute Julie Gordon tells Brownfield swings between unusually warm, back to cold and then hot have left a lot of unknowns for this year’s production.

“It’s still unclear if there is going to be any substantial damage to our crop this year,” she says. “It looks like the sweet cherries faired a little bit better during these fluctuations in temperature than the tarts.”

She says pollination is also in question.

“We got a jump start at the season in March and it slowed down with pollination these last few weeks,” she says.  “The bees just haven’t been coming out like they normally would.”

She says at this point harvest in nation’s top state, Michigan, for tart cherries is on track for the end of July with Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and the Pacific Northwest expecting a normal sized crop.

Production in Michigan was down 60 percent last year.

Hear more from Gordon and how to find locally grown products amid import confusion.