After March’s unsettling weather conditions in California What will this affect the state’s upcoming cherries? “The prospects are good, we’re hopeful this year’s crop will exceed the average,” says Nick Lucich from Delta Packing Co, noting that the 10 year average of 6.2 million boxes. 6.2 millions of boxes cherry.

The heavy rains in March had gardeners thinking about the flower of the orchards with cherries: Are cherries pollinated? Will bees have the ability to do their job? Did it get adequate temperature? “Right the moment it’s showing the crop is set, and there was plenty of opportunity and the weather was good enough for them to be able to pollinate. There’s a crop in the field,” says Lucich.

However, he does point out that it’s probably not an all-time record harvest due to the unevenness of some orchards. Some appear as if they may not have had an ideal bloom window, but others just a bit further away appear to be good. “We were somewhat unsure about whether the crop would bloom or not. We’re glad with what we’ve seen in the field,” he says. The northern region of the state, including Stockton, Linden, Lodi and others, a large portion of this crop has yet to be determined, but initial signs suggest that it is likely like a solid crop.

In terms of timing, an extended winter, and the slow growth after winter have kept the crop from growing. “It’s an excellent thing. This crop won’t be harmed due to this tardiness. There’s a possibility of extended time to bloom, but usually it’s faster. We know that this crop is being pollinated however, what is the amount?” Lucich says.

Memorial Day promotions

The last couple of years, the bulk of the California cherry crop has been collected and packed by May. Then, as June arrives the final third of the crop is packed. “This year could be a flip and a third will be of the crop packed in May and then the remaining in June. It’s an important variation,” he says. This means that while there’s fruit readily available for Memorial Day promotions, there are promotional opportunities in the aftermath of a long weekend. “A majority of the time, by June, retail stores may begin considering Washington however this year we’ll reach the peak on June 1, as a state and could provide the greatest chances to sell cherries,” He says.

Washington is also getting older due to colder temperatures. Though it does overlap with the California crops, generally around a week apart however, it is possible that it will overlap in the middle of June this year.

For the demand for cherries, warmer weather could increase cherry sales this year. Lucich observes that many of the early summer fruits competing to be on the shelves alongside cherries are either weak or damaged. Stone fruits are light, blueberries and strawberries have been battling, and watermelon could be late. A longer Washington season and you could see higher need to purchase California cherries.

Pricing? “If we are able to achieve an over-average yield for the entire state, prices, overall, is likely to be more aggressive than it was last year when it was 50 percent of the harvest. In the past, prices had to be higher in order to keep farmers from settling for lower yields” the farmer declares. “This year’s prices are expected to start with a high price, but then drop down to a level that is more reasonable in order to move retail prices. At the point Memorial events begin, there’ll be sufficient inventory available to support the reasonable prices at retail.”

For further information:

Nick Lucich

Delta Packing Co. of Lodi

Tel: +1 (209) 334-1023

nlucich@deltapacking.com

www.deltapacking.com