At the national level, the production forecast for this year is 222,000,000 pounds (100,697 tonnes). Lance Honing from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA/NASS) says that a large portion of this figure is due to Michigan.
“Of these 222,000,000 pounds, they represent 182 million pounds of the total. In Michigan, in particular, we are seeing the largest harvest since 2018,” said Honing. In fact, Michigan grows about 75% of tart cherries and has seen an increase of 37.7% compared to last year's harvest.
“We had freezing issues that limited the harvest. So, with this large increase, it is still a historically very large harvest, and we are in great shape for tart cherries this season.”
This year, Michigan is not only leading in cherry production, but it also has the task of keeping the number of sweet cherries high nationally, while other states producing sweet cherries are in decline.
“The national total, 355,000 tonnes, technically you could say it has increased by 3/10 of a percent compared to last year’s production. But if you exclude Michigan, which was not counted in last year’s total, there is a 5.9% decrease compared to last year for the other three states we measured in both seasons,” he explained.
“This is largely due to the fact that we have seen a smaller harvest or are expecting a smaller harvest in both California and Washington. They are by far the dominant producers of sweet cherries in the United States.” In recent years, Michigan has not been included in the sweet cherry production estimates due to low production numbers. Now that the numbers have increased, the USDA has once again included the state in the estimates.
Source: AgNetWest
Image: SL Fruit Service
09 Jun 2025
In Oregon, X-disease has had a milder impact on cherry crops thanks to the dominance of a less efficient leafhopper vector. Unlike in Washington, local growers have removed fewer trees and now focus more on other issues like tomato ringspot virus and pest pressure.
04 Aug 2023
Today cherry cultivation involves densities of up to a few thousand plants/ha. Intensification tends to result in earlier entry into production and improved fruit quality, but this is counterbalanced by higher planting costs and a shorter productive life of the plants.
29 Apr 2026
A Chinese study examines anthocyanin stability in different cherry species during puree processing, highlighting how chemical structure and processing stages affect pigment loss and the overall quality of the final product.
29 Apr 2026
In Chile, the Check Fast Cherry system shows that Botrytis is more aggressive than Alternaria on cherry flowers and fruits. The 48-hour rapid test detects infections in real time and identifies new fungal species, supporting more effective disease control strategies.
