Northwest cherry growers look for strong crop

Look for a bigger crop of Northwest cherries in 2021 and a nice-sized promotion window for retailers.

The 2021 crop had a great bloom period, said B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers, Yakima, Wash. 

With the first crop estimate of Northwest cherries at 23.7 million boxes, the 2021 cherry harvest will be up about 3 million boxes from 2020, said Catherine Gipe-Stewart, communications manager for Domex Superfresh Growers, Yakima. 

The crop will be more similar to the 2019 crop in volume, she said.

“June will start slowly and ramp up gradually, but there should be enough volume to support July ads because overall, the Northwest will ship more cherries than last June,” Gipe-Stewart said. 

“Our peak volume should arrive in early July, but we anticipate the summer flow being smooth nearly all the way through August.”

Speaking before the crop estimate was released, Thurlby said Northwest cherry growers had a larger bloom in 2021 than last year.

“We are a day or two ahead of normal,” Thurlby said. “Our growing degree day accumulation is very similar to last year when we started picking on May 28. Right now, our earliest harvest is lining up for June 1.”

Brianna Shales, director of marketing for Stemilt Growers, Wenatchee, Wash., said the marketer is anticipating an early June start, with expectations to run cherries into late August based on early projections.

There should not be any significant supply gaps between the California and Pacific Northwest cherry season, Thurlby said. 
“California should wind out of their crop through mid- to late June and the Northwest will start on June 1 and hit volume by June 16,” he said, so there could be some overlap between the two regions.

Retailers can start with heavy promotion of Northwest cherries starting from June 15 through mid-August.

“California is reporting a healthy crop with their peak finishing as Northwest cherries get going,” Gipe-Stewart said. “As long as Mother Nature cooperates, it will be a smooth transition.”

The transition will be orderly between California and the Northwest, said Chuck Sinks, president of sales and marketing for Yakima-based Sage Fruit. 

“There will likely not be any gaps, but perhaps a slight cross-over in California and Northwest cherries; their season looks as though it could go a bit long,” he said.

Organic cherries

Thurlby said organic cherry offerings make up about 2% of the total Northwest crop. 

“The ‘little cherry disease’ pandemic here in the Northwest has slowed grower efforts to become certified organic,” Thurlby said.

“However, there are still many growers who will continue to grow organic sweet cherries.”