Cherries

One dead, one injured in cherry chopper crash

A passenger died and the pilot was seriously injured June 12 when a helicopter drying cherries in an East Wenatchee orchard crashed.The helicopter's main rotor clipped a power line, causing it to crash in the... more »

New York bill aids apples

On June 4, a handful of New York state assemblymen and senators announced the creation of new legislation, the Family Farmers and Apple Growers Relief Act, to help apple and other growers in the state... more »

Spring freezes leave small crop, more questions

An early spring followed by freeze events in March and April did significant damage to fruit crops in the Midwest and East. As of May, the industry was still waiting to see how much fruit... more »

CIAB restricts zero tart cherries

The Cherry Industry Administrative Board (CIAB) has recommended that the preliminary “free” percentage of the national tart cherry crop be set at 100 percent, and the preliminary “restricted” percentage be set at zero.CIAB, which represents... more »

2012 Fruit Crop Guesstimate: Some fare well, others don’t

Record-breaking warm temperatures in March, followed by a series of freezes, savaged Michigan’s tree fruit crops this spring, along with crops in other Eastern states. Western states, however, fared better.Speakers went over the numbers June... more »

Fruit shortage hurts everyone

Northern Michigan fruit growers in recent years pitched in a portion of their oft-thin profit margin to promote local products on a national stage.Those efforts helped build an identity for regional fruit, but a different... more »

MAC gets new members

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced the appointments of Robert Gregory, Leland, and Mark Youngquist, Kent City, to the Michigan Apple Committee (MAC).Established in 1965, the committee’s seven members develop and implement marketing programs and... more »

Oceana County cherries and apples fared worse than asparagus

The good news is that the asparagus in Oceana County took less of a hit than expected.The bad news is that cherry and apple growers in Oceana County weren’t as lucky.And peaches? Forget about it.... more »