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July 23, 2003Tarts to help make up for sweet cherry woesBY MELANIE TACOMARecord-Eagle staff writer From the front seat of his truck, Don Gregory can see a sweet cherry orchard on the left side of the road, a tart cherry orchard on the right. He hasn't harvested it, but the sweet cherry orchard is about empty. Gregory, a partner in Cherry Bay Orchards in Suttons Bay, says his sweet cherry crop this year is less than 20 percent its average size. "Everything's better than last year, because we didn't have a crop last year," he said. "But this is the second-smallest crop we've ever had." Dennis Hoxsie of Hoxsie's Orchard Hill Farm said his farm market sales of sweet cherries will suffer this year because he also had an extremely small crop. "Sweet cherries are about the same as last year," he said. "There just weren't any to speak of." Growers blame the sweet cherry woes on a few days in March, when temperatures reached 40 degrees during the day and dropped to 20-below at night, Gregory said. Jim Bardenhagen, Michigan State University Extention director in Leelanau County, said sweet cherry crop estimates this year fall between one-quarter and one-third the average harvest for northwest Michigan. "Eighty-five percent of the sweet cherries grown in Michigan are grown up here (in northwest Michigan)," he said. "That's quite an impact." July rain storms also hurt the sweet cherry crop, with heavy downpours causing cracks in the fruit. Several varieties, among them Ulsters and Napoleans, were especially hurt by rain, Bardenhagen said. Tart cherries, which are heartier and bloom later than sweets, avoided frost damage. Hoxsie said tarts would help make up for the poor sweet cherry harvest. "Because of a good tart cherry crop, it will be a half-way decent year (financially)," Hoxsie said. The USDA estimates that 150 million pounds of tart cherries will be produced in Michigan this year. According to the Cherry Industry Administrative Board, 103 million pounds will come from northwest Michigan. Perry Hedin, of the cherry board, said the average price of cherries per pound from 1997-2001, as collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service was 17½ cents per pound. Hedin said he expects prices to be much higher this year. "I'm certain that grower prices will exceed (that price) by a considerable margin this year," he said. Last year's bad tart cherry crop left extremely low inventories, Bardenhagen said. "It will make a fairly good situation for tart growers if they can get them in without quality problems (such as damage by high winds)," he said. Early July rains that hampered the sweet cherry crops actually helped tart cherries, Bardenhagen said. "It's one of those things that's really tough as a farmer," he said. "You don't know if you want it to rain or you don't want it to rain." Gregory said Cherry Bay begins harvesting a minimum of 60 days after the trees enter full bloom. After months of watching the weather, the harvest usually takes about four weeks. "You have to take the approach that you're going to get what the good Lord is going to give you," he said. "And you focus on things you can control and not get upset about the things you can't."
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