Cherry harvest bountiful despite June rain and hail

MILTON-FREEWATER, Ore. – In spite of a wetter-than-normal June, the Walla Walla Valley cherry harvest is proving to be a sweet one this summer, especially for Blue Mountain Growers Inc.

“When we are done we will process over 6 million pounds of cherries – that’s double our (usual) production,” General Manager Justin Brunson said.

Last year, Blue Mountain Growers processed about 3 million pounds of cherries. A recent addition to its production line, along with a drive to develop more partnerships with growers as far away as Quincy, Wash., and a good Northwest crop, will most likely result in a 100 percent increase this year.

Brunson said growers have been harvesting since June 9, and the processing plant will continue to receive cherries up until the first week of August, when the late-ripening Sweethearts start rolling in from Klicker’s mountain orchard.

Across the state, growers are also reporting good harvests.

According to the Northwest Fruit Commission, many growers are experiencing a 10 percent loss because of recent rain, but the overall harvest is still high.

Too much rain near harvest causes cherries to split when the fruit absorbs the excess moisture, Brunson said.

In the Walla Walla Valley, June usually sees an average of 1  1/4 inches of rain. By Friday, the valley had almost 3  1/2 inches for the month and one hailstorm on June 23.

“The recent rains and hail have really done very little damage in this valley. We have been very fortunate compared to the northern counties of Washington state and the Yakima Valley,” Brunson said.

While the Northwest is seeing plenty of cherries, Midwest growers had an unusually warm March, which led to early budding, followed by normal freezing in April.

The result, according to Wisconsin Cherry Growers Inc., is a small Midwest cherry crop, which could be one reason Blue Mountain Growers is getting sweet prices right now.

“Pricing remains pretty steady for us. … It’s possible that after the Fourth of July, you may see some price reductions,” Brunson said.

Smaller orchards in the Walla Walla Valley are also seeing more fruit this year, especially when compared to the harvest of 2011.

That’s when local crops were decimated because of early freezing the previous November that damaged many of the valley’s fruit trees, including the 10 cherry trees owned by Dave Guss, of College Place.

“We had few cherries last year, but they were bigger,” Guss said.

This year, Guss said his trees are loaded, and the recent rains and hailstorm didn’t affect his small farm.

“I was worried about it but it turned out OK,” he said.