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
26 Jul 2024
Some of this work was also carried out in other external farms belonging to their customers, located in different parts of Spain, Azerbaijan or Georgia: where the homogenisation of flower products is being tested.
08 Jul 2024
A Greek study on the Regina and Canada Giant cultivars involved the application of varying levels of compression according to fruit size. In addition to flesh firmness, sensory evaluations of firmness and primary metabolites were evaluated.
30 Mar 2026
Field analysis in China of cherries shipped from Chile highlights the critical role of postharvest management. Extended storage, long transit times, and market saturation require advanced packaging solutions to preserve freshness, ensure quality, and reduce losses.
30 Mar 2026
The cherry supply chain in Apulia, the core of Italy’s production, is falling behind global competitors. Limited innovation, outdated varieties, and weak logistics are slowing growth, increasing the risk of losing international market share to more advanced producers.
