“There’s a possibility the crop can be whittled down even more,” said Frank Lyall, a Yakima Valley cherry grower. Rain can cause nearly ripened cherries to split open, which makes them no longer worth picking because they can’t be sold. Growers will find out later this week whether last week’s weather damaged the cherries, he said. Thurlby, president of the Northwest Cherry Growers. Some growers in early season areas - including orchards in Pasco and Mattawa - did some picking on Friday, but had to stop for several days because of rain, said B.J. The recent rain that soaked the region also stunted an already delayed harvest. If the estimate sticks, that would be nearly a quarter less than the 20.3 million boxes harvested a year ago and the smallest crop since 2013, when the region produced just 14.3 million boxes. Nearly 15 million 20-pound boxes are expected to come from growers in the five-state region - Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana, according to the latest estimate of the Northwest Cherry Growers, the Yakima-based marketing organization. “It’s unprecedented,” said Kurt Tonnemaker, who oversees sales efforts of his family’s two farms, in Royal City and Woodinville. have to wait longer to get their first taste of the juicy red fruit. And with cherries taking longer to develop, harvest has been delayed by several weeks, meaning consumers in the Northwest - and throughout the U.S. That will likely mean higher prices at local grocery stories and farmers markets. This year, the cold and wet spring stunted the development of many cherries, leading to what looks to be the smallest crop of Northwest sweet cherries in nearly a decade. That means fewer cherries to sell at the farmers markets in Seattle, Eastern Washington and Idaho.Ĭherry growers in Washington state, who produce the majority of Northwest sweet cherries, often have to respond to weather conditions - frost during the early months of 2020 or triple-digit temperatures in late June last year that damaged ripening fruit. Snowy and cold conditions in April caused the farm to lose 98% of its cherry crop, which makes up a sizable portion of the 126-acre orchard.
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