While the Northwest cherry season is likely to extend into September, crop volumes are getting smaller due to April’s cold and snow, said B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers.
A new report from the Northwest Cherry Growers indicates the summer heatwave in the Northwest has caused an estimated 20% reduction in volume compared with earlier expectations.
Early indications for the 2021 Northwest cherry crop suggest that it will be a more normal year and volume will be up over last season, said Chuck Sinks.
Cherry harvest for Domex Superfresh Growers will start around the first week of June, and gradually ramp up with good volume in mid-June, said Catherine Gipe-Stewart, communications manager for the company.
The cherry crop outlook is good, but The Oppenheimer Group experienced some frost damage in its orchards, said Jon Bailey, director of the cherry category for Vancouver, British Columbia-based Oppy.
Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers expects a larger cherry crop this year, said Dan Davis, director of business development for the Yakima, Wash.-based marketer.
Retailers can promote cherries by maintaining off shelf displays with fresh product in key high-traffic areas to maximize impulse purchases/sales, Harter of CMI said.
Catherine Gipe-Stewart, communications manager for Domex Superfresh Growers, Yakima, Wash., said multiple studies show single-bag cherry sales are over 70% impulse purchases.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the importance of digital marketing, said Catherine Gipe-Stewart, communications manager for Domex Superfresh Growers, Yakima, Wash.
BC Tree Fruits had a beautiful cherry set this year with a heavy bloom, said Laurel Van Dam, director of media relations for the Kelowna, British Columbia-based company.
The cherry crop for Orondo, Wash.-based Auvil Fruit will be similar but possibly a little larger than a year ago, said Ray Norwood, director of sales and marketing for the company.
Northwest produce firms Chelan Fresh, Gebbers Farms and Apple House Warehouse & Storage Inc. are helping support families in Pateros, Wash., where childcare is in short supply.
With more than a month left in cherry harvest season in Washington state, The Packer’s Tom Karst caught up with a busy Kyle Mathison, fourth-generation grower with Stemilt Growers on July 16.
The global scope of the ongoing new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is evident in concerns Northwest cherry grower-shippers were expressing in late April, as their summer deal approached.
Northwest cherry suppliers say they are working to overcome two hurdles connected to the coronavirus COVID-19 as they hurtle toward a new season. One is fear; the other, money.
The Northwest cherry harvest won’t reach last year’s 23 million 20-pound boxes in 2020, but there will be plenty of fruit for consumers in the U.S. and beyond, suppliers say.
Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers LLC soon will unveil a new Ultimate cherry line with electronic defect sorting and sizing technology, said Brianna Shales, communications manager.
Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group in 2019 is marking 10 years of marketing cherries from The Dalles, Ore.-based Orchard View Inc., said David Nelley, category vice president at Oppy.
Catch up on the latest from grower-shippers that produce and market Northwest cherries, from increased volumes of organic and proprietary varieties of cherries to new optical sorters and personnel.
Rain and low temperatures lingered longer than usual in the Pacific Northwest this spring, but cherry growers had their fingers crossed for the weather to comer right for a productive and profitable season.