NY Cherry Crop down 81% from 2011
By: Tina Shively
Updated: July 10, 2012
New York cherries will likely be hard to find at your area market this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects to produce just over one million pounds of cherries this year. Last year, the state produced nearly 6 million pounds of the fruit. That's a decrease of 81%.
The warmest March on record in Rochester forced cherry trees to bloom early. A frost followed soon after, killing the buds, and any chance of a profitable cherry crop. Despite efforts to save them, the wild temperature swing left Whittier Farms without any cherries at all. Whittier has to import the cherries from their other farm in Niagara County. The bare trees mean customers can't pick their own cherries this season, and that concerns farm management.
"That would bring a lot of customers in the summertime for us that would carry us right through to apple season we appreciate them," said Store Manager Jermaine Douglas. "And to our customers we apologize that we don't have enough cherry crop this year. Hopefully next year the weather will cooperate with us and have more than we supposed to have and make you all happy again."
Douglas says Whittier Farms is doing its best to prevent raising cherry prices for its customers.
The warmest March on record in Rochester forced cherry trees to bloom early. A frost followed soon after, killing the buds, and any chance of a profitable cherry crop. Despite efforts to save them, the wild temperature swing left Whittier Farms without any cherries at all. Whittier has to import the cherries from their other farm in Niagara County. The bare trees mean customers can't pick their own cherries this season, and that concerns farm management.
"That would bring a lot of customers in the summertime for us that would carry us right through to apple season we appreciate them," said Store Manager Jermaine Douglas. "And to our customers we apologize that we don't have enough cherry crop this year. Hopefully next year the weather will cooperate with us and have more than we supposed to have and make you all happy again."
Douglas says Whittier Farms is doing its best to prevent raising cherry prices for its customers.
