Columbia River Gorge cherries dodge frigid temperatures

As the Pacific Northwest emerges from some of the most intense climatic conditions in recent years, Vancouver, B.C.-based Oppy offers a positive outlook for the upcoming Orchard View cherry season.

“Weather in the Northwest has been frigid,” B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers, said in an update. “The region received snow on bloom for the first time.”

The result was about a 25% decrease in volume for the Northwest cherry industry.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

“Our hearts go out to our fellow cherry growers,” Brenda Thomas, president at Orchard View, said in a news release. “We have been very fortunate. Our microclimate on the hillsides of the Columbia River Gorge protected us from the cold snap and encouraged bees to migrate to warmer weather. We’re humbled to share that we have a quality crop of good volume for our customers.”

With a mid-June start date, the season is set up to have steady supply through July, along with good sizing and flavor.

“Our customers can expect to be fully supported through the season and trust in those supply lines,”

James Milne, Oppy’s senior vice president of categories and marketing, said in the release.

“It can be unnerving to hear the estimates of 2022, and we want our workers, consumers and retailers to know that we have ‘pickable’ cherries,” Thomas said in the release.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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