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Local cherry crop stable
By Francesca Olsen
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
COLUMBIA COUNTY - Nationally, tart cherry crop production is expected to spike nearly a third this season from last season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But in Columbia County, the tart cherry crop is either too small, or too close to call.
Bob Fix, of Fix Brothers Fruit Farm, said his tart cherries are looking good. “We do have a good crop, but we just have a small orchard that’s for you-pick. We don’t sell them to the processor or anything,” he said.
Tart cherries are different from sweet cherries. According to Jim Bittner, vice chairman of the New York Farm Viability Institute board of directors, tart cherries are used for pies and beverages. Sweet cherries are only good for eating “out of the hand” or for maraschino cherries.
“They’re a completely different animal, sweets and tarts,” said Bittner.
There aren’t many commercial cherry growers in the area. Fix said he has about 10 acres of sweet cherries. “Most people want the sweet cherries, but there’s people that also come for the red sours and black sours,” he said.
Fix lost about 70 percent of his sweet cherry crop this year. “We had so much rain,” he said.
“When we get this rain, they keep growing and they split their skins, so then they’re worthless,” said Columbia County Farm Service Agency Executive Director Frank Bender. He said he’s received a lot of reports from farmers about split-skin cherries.
“There’s not a large amount of acreage grown of sweet or tart cherries in Columbia County,” said Bender. “Ours are not for processing. Ours are for fresh market.”
“Because they’re mechanically harvested, a small grower can’t afford to have the machine to shake the tree,” Bittner said.
The USDA project’s growers will raise 8.4 million pounds of cherries — down more than one million pounds from 2008. Nationally, Michigan expects to harvest 220 million pounds, 33 percent more than last year, Utah expects to harvest 23 million pounds, up 3 million pounds from last year, and in Washington, 17.5 million pounds, 5 million pounds more than 2008.
Most of the cherries in New York are grown in Wayne, Niagara and Orleans County. Bittner, who runs Singer Farms in Appleton, which is in Niagara County, has 80 acres of tart cherries.
“It’s going to be up,” he said, adding that New York’s cherry harvest has been fairly consistent over the past few years. “We don’t have as wide a fluctuation as other places in the country.”
Bittner has a co-op processing plant he runs with a few other local growers. When they harvest around July 13, they will pit their own cherries, freeze them, and sell them to manufacturers. While the Hudson Valley is nearly halfway through its cherry season, “in Western New York, we’ve hardly started yet,” according to Bittner.
Nearly all tart cherries are dried, canned or frozen, and the supply is regulated, so prices won’t be significantly affected if the market is flooded.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
COLUMBIA COUNTY - Nationally, tart cherry crop production is expected to spike nearly a third this season from last season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But in Columbia County, the tart cherry crop is either too small, or too close to call.
Bob Fix, of Fix Brothers Fruit Farm, said his tart cherries are looking good. “We do have a good crop, but we just have a small orchard that’s for you-pick. We don’t sell them to the processor or anything,” he said.
Tart cherries are different from sweet cherries. According to Jim Bittner, vice chairman of the New York Farm Viability Institute board of directors, tart cherries are used for pies and beverages. Sweet cherries are only good for eating “out of the hand” or for maraschino cherries.
“They’re a completely different animal, sweets and tarts,” said Bittner.
There aren’t many commercial cherry growers in the area. Fix said he has about 10 acres of sweet cherries. “Most people want the sweet cherries, but there’s people that also come for the red sours and black sours,” he said.
Fix lost about 70 percent of his sweet cherry crop this year. “We had so much rain,” he said.
“When we get this rain, they keep growing and they split their skins, so then they’re worthless,” said Columbia County Farm Service Agency Executive Director Frank Bender. He said he’s received a lot of reports from farmers about split-skin cherries.
“There’s not a large amount of acreage grown of sweet or tart cherries in Columbia County,” said Bender. “Ours are not for processing. Ours are for fresh market.”
“Because they’re mechanically harvested, a small grower can’t afford to have the machine to shake the tree,” Bittner said.
The USDA project’s growers will raise 8.4 million pounds of cherries — down more than one million pounds from 2008. Nationally, Michigan expects to harvest 220 million pounds, 33 percent more than last year, Utah expects to harvest 23 million pounds, up 3 million pounds from last year, and in Washington, 17.5 million pounds, 5 million pounds more than 2008.
Most of the cherries in New York are grown in Wayne, Niagara and Orleans County. Bittner, who runs Singer Farms in Appleton, which is in Niagara County, has 80 acres of tart cherries.
“It’s going to be up,” he said, adding that New York’s cherry harvest has been fairly consistent over the past few years. “We don’t have as wide a fluctuation as other places in the country.”
Bittner has a co-op processing plant he runs with a few other local growers. When they harvest around July 13, they will pit their own cherries, freeze them, and sell them to manufacturers. While the Hudson Valley is nearly halfway through its cherry season, “in Western New York, we’ve hardly started yet,” according to Bittner.
Nearly all tart cherries are dried, canned or frozen, and the supply is regulated, so prices won’t be significantly affected if the market is flooded.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
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