Northwest Cherry Growers president, BJ Thurlby, is confident his industry can ride-out a heat wave that has gripped the region.
Thurlby told Capital Press that the industry had packed 8.2m cartons as of 21 June, which was “probably” half of what would be harvested this season. A crop of around of around 16m cartons would fall short of the 19.7m cartons forecast prior to the start of the season.
Rain limited production of early season varieties across the Northwest this season, while drought reduced the crop out of the Lower Yakima Valley. A run of hot weather late last week, which is expected to extend into the upcoming week, is also being viewed as a factor behind the altered forecast, with harvest currently at its peak.
Thurlby admitted he had been inundated with emails and calls about the “predicted extra hot weather,” but insisted that the industry could cope, pointing out that Northwest growers encountered 27 days above 37oCduring the 2014 harvest.
“While this heat is untypical of June … it is common every summer,” Thurlby said in an update issued over the weekend. “Heat is just like rain … it can be managed if growers prepares for it … our growers are prepared to do the work needed to protect our fruit.”
Thurlby added that the industry continued to pack over 500,000 cartons per day last week and was closing in on 10m cartons for the season. Harvest is likely to continue into late July, with the industry’s diverse production base proving to be an advantage.
“Our growing region spans over 800 miles and almost all of the cherries along the Columbia River, Columbia Basin, Tri-Cities and Yakima Valley have been picked,” Thurlby explained.“Current harvest is at 1400 to 1500 feet above sea level.Higher elevations are recipient to cooler temperatures. Harvest will continue at least until 25 July this year … but we will see significant volumes continue over the next two to three weeks.”
Meanwhile, the final calculations for the Californian cherry season have been completed, with the industry pack-out standing at 5.87m cartons. South Korea was the industry’s largest export market, absorbing 643,141 cartons, while Canada took 485,992 cartons. Japan was also a strong market, with 329,554 cartons shipped to the Asian nation, while a small trial shipment of organic cherries (124 cartons) entered Taiwan.
