The Ag Information Network report on today's fruit growers. Sweet cherry production in the United States for this year is expected to reach 355,000 tons, a slight increase from last year.
Starting from the south, Lance Honig of USDA says things are looking quite good.
"Looking at California specifically, it's still a very abundant harvest. Last season was nearly a record, so even though California is down, the harvest is still very plentiful. In Washington, the harvest is slightly below average but still of good size."
Honig notes that the estimates are accompanied by a clarification. "The total national figure of 355,000 tons, technically one could say it's increased by three-tenths of a percentage point compared to last year's production. But excluding Michigan, which wasn't counted in last year's total, there's a 5.9% decline compared to last year for the remaining three states we measured, across both seasons."
So, Honig says overall it's not bad. "And this is largely because we've seen a smaller crop, or expect a smaller crop, both in California and Washington, which are by far the dominant sweet cherry producers here in the United States."
Regarding consumers, Honig continues, "So, with a slight decline nationally, we still expect a medium to above-average harvest size. Therefore, availability shouldn't be a problem this year for sweet cherries."
Washington and Oregon together are estimated at 228,000 tons, with a decrease of about 3.4% from last year... but the quality this year is exceptional.
Source: AG Info
Image: Fresh Collective
15 May 2025
Washington State University is transforming cherry breeding with an advanced optical sorter. Faster, more precise and objective analysis of fruit traits—such as size, color and defects—brings major benefits to varietal selection and lab efficiency.
06 Sep 2024
The aim of the study conducted at Qinghai University (China) was to test whether seaweed-based biostimulants have the ability to counteract delayed fruit ripening and improve the antioxidant properties and quality of cherries treated with gibberellic acid.
11 Sep 2025
Effective cherry fruit load regulation in Chile and Peru through strategic pruning, thinning, nutrition, and irrigation. Improve fruit size, sugar content, and harvest uniformity while ensuring sustainable yields and orchard performance in competitive export-driven markets.
11 Sep 2025
A study on China’s Loess Plateau examines how orchard age and sweet cherry variety shape soil quality. Findings reveal declining organic matter and aggregate stability with time, highlighting the importance of sustainable management to preserve fertility and productivity.
