It is cherry pie season, and Michigan is the nation's leading producer of tart cherries, the preferred variety for pies.
Nationally, the expected production for this year is 222 million pounds (100,697 metric tons). Lance Honing of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service says that a large portion of this total is due to Michigan.
"Michigan accounts for 182 million pounds (82,554 metric tons) of this total. In Michigan, specifically, producers are facing the largest harvest since 2018," said Honing. In fact, Michigan grows about 75% of the tart cherries and has seen a 37.7% increase compared to last year's harvest.
"We have had freezing issues that limited the harvest. So, with this big increase, it's 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 also has the task of maintaining the national number of sweet cherries, while other states producing sweet cherries are declining.
"The total national number, 355,000 metric tons, technically you could say it increased by 30% compared to last year's production. But if you exclude Michigan, which was not counted in the total last year, 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 expect 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 was not included in the sweet cherry production estimates due to low production numbers. Now that the numbers have increased, the USDA has included the state again in the estimates.
Source: Michigan Today
Image: Black Star Farms
19 Jan 2024
According to the US Department of Agriculture, Michigan had 23,000 acres of sour cherries in 2022. The number of growers decreased from 540 in 2006 to 253 in 2022. The number of processors also decreased from 24 in 2011 to 14 in 2023.
09 Jun 2026
Tart cherry juice clarification with PES membranes and pectinase-based enzymatic pretreatment improves clarity and stability, limits fouling and protects polyphenols, anthocyanins and antioxidants, offering useful guidance for more sustainable and efficient processing methods.
18 Aug 2026
A study on 0900 Ziraat cherries evaluates indirect solar drying under different ventilation settings. Using one fan shortens drying time, preserves good color quality and provides the best technological balance between energy consumption, efficiency and sustainability.
18 Aug 2026
Mechanical harvesting of sour cherries is seeing very strong demand, driven by labor shortages. Stable service rates, fully booked schedules, storms, high temperatures and fears of an early halt to fruit purchases by processors are shaping the final stage of the season.
