On January 10th, at the 82nd Cherry Institute in Yakima (Washington), the administrators of Northwest Cherries informed growers that the 2024 season was a success in terms of shipments and promotions, a positive turn after several difficult years.
“Because you’ve grown fantastic cherries, it has been quite a good season,” said B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherries.
The 2024 crop provided a volume in line with the five-year average of large fruit, Thurlby said. About 90% of the cherries shipped in 2024 were 10.5 rows or larger. Additionally, the shipping season was more spread out than in 2023 and did not overlap with California, helping to maintain higher prices.
Karley Lange, director of national operations, and Keith Hu, director of international operations, told growers that the Ooh La La promotional campaign – a nod to the 2024 Paris Olympics – was a success both in the U.S. and abroad. The two synchronized the campaign for the first time in about 20 years.
Lange told growers that the campaign reached an audience of 414.5 million impressions, including digital and print media, nutritional newsletters, influencer campaigns, and recipes. Health messages, such as research showing cherries reduce inflammation, permeated the content.
Lange also organized a local promotion by setting up a special menu featuring cherries at the Sugarpine Drive-In restaurant in Troutdale, Oregon. The Cherries Jubilee ice cream dessert was featured in the New York Times.
Image 1: B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherries, reviews the 2024 cherry season to kick off the 82nd annual Cherry Institute on January 10 in Yakima.
The campaign's visual featured an image of a young woman with red hair, extremely happy about the cherry snack she is holding.
“Red hair is everywhere,” said Hu. Hu convinced Bangkok and surrounding transport officials to wrap commuter trains with the image and light up stations with promotions.
For McCord, a cherry selector from Washington State University, he told growers that the R19, one of three new cherry varieties in experimental phase 3, could be released and available for tree delivery by 2027. The self-fertile Benton/Selah cross is harvested in early June, about the same time as Chelan, but it is firmer, larger, and sweeter.
Kate Tynan, senior vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Council, shared updates – including some encouraging news – about the H-2A regulations.
"It’s one of the few times I have good news to share," she said.
At lunch, the cherry industry celebrated the coronation of the 2025 Cherry King. Mike Taylor of Stemilt Growers, the 2024 Cherry King, handed the crown to plant pathologist Gary Grove, who spent 38 years at Washington State University working to help cherry growers manage powdery mildew.
“You may not know this year’s Cherry King, but his work impacts your profits,” Taylor said. “Mold is a curse, and when it’s bad, it’s deadly. It’s tough for the receiver, it’s tough for the grower, and it’s tough for the packing house, so the work you’ve done is extraordinary.”
Grove, originally from Ohio, pursued his plant pathology degree and then moved west for a postdoctoral position at the University of California, Davis, where he began researching cherry powdery mildew when he joined WSU in 1986. He will retire at the end of 2024 but came to the Cherry Institute to give some final talks on lessons learned throughout his career before heading to the Caribbean to follow his passion for scuba diving.
Before his coronation, Grove told growers that the key to managing powdery mildew is strong annual management through carefully planned spraying programs that account for resistance development and are applied with good coverage.
“The best way to minimize overwintering inoculum for the 2025 growing season is to have effectively managed it in 2024,” Grove said. “It’s an ongoing process, year after year.”
During the lunch keynote speech, Walt Duflock, vice president for innovation at Western Growers in California, gave a concerning assessment of agricultural policy and automation for his state, warning that similar policies could have analogous effects in Washington.
Image 2: Walt Duflock, vice president for innovation at Western Growers, delivers the keynote speech at the Cherry Institute lunch.
For example, agricultural acreage has decreased in California but has quickly increased in Peru, where the federal government is investing in water storage, and the middle class of farmers is growing. Not coincidentally, Peru’s agricultural export value has increased by 21 times in the last 20 years.
Duflock leads Western Growers’ efforts to help Western specialty crops automate.
“If we don’t do it, the acreage will shift,” he said.
Read the full article: Good Food Grower
Images: Good Food Grower
Ross Courtney
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