Michigan Cherry Industry Devastated
"The reserves are gone," said Brad Wendzel, president and industrial sales manager of Coloma-based C…"The reserves are gone," said Brad Wendzel, president and industrial sales manager of Coloma-based Coloma Frozen Foods, and the situation is even worse than previously estimated. "It's like if we depleted our strategic (oil) reserves and then blew up a bunch of refineries."
A March warm spell caused fruit trees to blossom early, but subsequent freezes killed buds and ravaged Michigan cherries, as well as much of the peach and apple crops. The lack of reserves means higher prices and new recipes for fruit-based products such as pies, salsa and dried fruit.
Visitors to the July 7-14 National Cherry Festival in Traverse City likely will eat tart cherries from other states, such as Washington, said festival media relations officer Susan Wilcox Olson. Sweet cherries, which are harvested near festival time, probably will come from Michigan. Wilcox Olson said attendees shouldn't expect drastic price hikes.
The Michigan House of Representatives last week urged President Barack Obama and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to consider federal disaster aid because of fruit crop damage in northwest Michigan and grape damage in southwest Michigan. "The clock is ticking," said Justin Rashid, president of Petoskey-based American Spoon Foods Inc., which sells preserves, dried fruits and other food products. "Indications from our suppliers are not good."
Michigan, whose fruit industry is valued at $190 million a year, produces three-fourths of the nation's tart cherries, used primarily in pies and other food products, and 20% of its sweet cherries. This is the third consecutive year with a poor cherry crop. The result is drained inventories that already were shorted by a federal inventory cap, which limits the amount of cherries saved from year to year. The federal Agricultural Marketing Service has requested the cap be doubled to 100 million pounds of cherries.
The depleted inventories forced one further processor, Cherry Republic, to replace lost cherry supplies by going to Poland. Cherry Republic ordered 150,000 pounds of Polish cherries to make some of its most popular cherry treats. "We did it to keep our employees busy," said Bob Sutherland president of the company. "It's a temporary necessity."
Rashid, however, says part of his company's draw is the fact that it uses only Michigan fruits. "We don't want to go to Poland or Hungary to find cherries. That's not what we've been about," he said. "Even with a tiny crop here in Michigan, we're going to try our best in order to get through."
