Cherry crop on track for good harvest

Average just might be good enough for this year’s Flathead Lake cherry crop.

With harvesting to begin in about a week, this year’s cherry crop is forecast to be on par with last year’s harvest of about 1.5 million pounds.

Flathead Lake cherry growers got a bit of a scare in April, when temperatures dropped below freezing, just as the cherry buds were expanding. The cold temperatures, though, didn’t harm the trees, according to Ken Edgington of the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Association.

Marketing of this year’s crop depends in large part on Washington’s crop, which according to Edgington is average also. “Washington has a good crop, not a glut crop, but a good crop,” he said.

Cold temperatures can affect the bloom of the cherry trees, and reduce harvest. But after the trees blossomed, “and the bees did their thing, everyone seems to have had a good bloom,” Edgington said.

In fact, he said, some trees were overset with blossoms. Cherry trees, though, have their way of controlling how much fruit they produce, and the “June drop” usually takes care of that by dropping excess fruit from the trees. “All in all we came through that one scare, and everybody has gotten back to a little more normal,” he said. “I don’t hear anybody complaining right now.”

Members of the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Association produce 1.5 million to 2 million pounds of cherries annually. The cherries are sold to Munson Foods in Yakima, Wash., and distributed from their warehouses.

Cherries picked on Flathead Lake are initially processed at the association’s warehouse on Finley Point. After getting a quick bath in 40-degree water to reduce the cherries’ temperature, the cherries are held in 300-pound bins in a cooler until Munson picks them up. Munson takes them to Yakima, where they are sorted by size and color. The cherries make it back to the Flathead Valley in three to four days from when they are picked, Edgington said.

As usual, the demand from the market is on larger cherries. “Small cherries just don’t fare as well in the market,” he said. “The consumer buys with their eyes.”

Flathead Lake’s cherry crop was nearly destroyed in 1989 when temperatures plummeted after warming. Many cherry growers replaced their Bing cherry trees with varieties that grow larger cherries, such as the Sweetheart, Lapin, Skeen and Lambert. Lamberts are the original cherry variety that Flathead Lake orchards grew in the early 1900s.

Lamberts, though, are better for the local market because they don’t transport well, Edgington said.

Harvesting will begin in mid-July at the south end of Flathead Lake, and begin heading north, up the lake. Yellow Bay cherries are harvested usually the first 10 days of August, depending on the cherry variety.

The value of the Flathead Lake cherry crop is $4 million to $5 million annually, Edgington said.

Member growers of the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Association can reserve 20 percent of their crop for local marketing and sales, including “you pick” sales.

To find out where you can pick your own cherries, go to montanacherries.com