A frost in Mid-May is expected to reduce the size of the

tart cherry crop this year as harvest ramps up in the country’s largest

producing state.

President of the Cherry Marketing Institute Julie Gordon

tells Brownfield the industry is also starting to see a shift in grower numbers

as smaller operators have sold after several years of negative margins.

“Some of that has been bought up by neighboring larger farms so overall acreage is down slightly, grower numbers are down quite a bit.”

USDA’s June tart cherry forecast projects Michigan’s crop

down nearly 30 percent and the national crop down 25 percent.

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