Cherry farmer speeds growth

Grower finds way to speed up cherry growth

by bill o'brienbobrien@record-eagle.com

(Photo: These special white plastic tunnels cover an acre of dwarf sweet cherry trees at the Dennis Hoxsie's cherry farm and farm market along M-72 in Williamsburg. Douglas Tesner / Record-Eagle)

WILLIAMSBURG -- Something's missing at Dennis Hoxsie's family farm market along M-72.

Oh, there are plenty of Michigan-made foods, snacks, ice cream and other products that draw thousands of visitors and locals over the summer season. But the shelves, at least for another week or so, will remain void of plump, popular sweet cherries from his nearby orchards that customers snap up as soon as they're picked.

Chilly springs such as the '09 season slow the harvest and undercut sales and profits.

So Hoxsie found a way to tweak Mother Nature's confines. He installed a set of three 600-foot

long tunnels at his farm that cover an acre of 500-plus dwarf sweet cherry trees imported from the West Coast.

Because the tunnels create a greenhouse effect that can speed up a crop's development, Hoxsie said heading into National Cherry Festival week without fresh local sweets soon will be a thing of the past.

"What we were looking at is getting cherries ripe earlier in the year, and two, growing a higher quality cherry," Hoxsie said. "We need ripe cherries the first week in July. For me, this is the way to do that."

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Record cherry crop about to pop

Wash. growers expect to top forecasts amid prime conditions
Samantha Graf
Capital Press

A record-breaking sweet cherry crop is predicted for Washington - double the 2008 production year.

The state is expected to produce around 200,000 tons, which is up 11 percent from the earlier June forecast, according to the Washington field office of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The expected tonnage is 100 percent above the 2008 cherry crop and 27 percent up from the 2007 production year, said NASS in a news release. "If realized, Washington's crop will be 19 percent larger than the previous record of 168,000 tons set in 2006." New plantings of earlier varieties like Chelan have come into production, increasing the potential production levels for Washington state cherries.

The field office cites a "very cold winter and an excellent bloom" period for the success of the 2009 crop so far.

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Sweet Cherry Production Expected Higher

http://www.agweekly.com/
Monday, June 22, 2009 9:22 AM CDT

Idaho is expecting a sweet cherry crop of 4,000 tons in 2009, up 111 percent from last year and 167 percent higher than 2007, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Idaho’s sweet cherry crop experienced an excellent bloom and only a limited frost.

U.S. sweet cherry production is forecast at 374,500 tons, up 52 percent from 2008 and 21 percent above 2007. The Washington crop forecast of 200,000 tons is 11 percent higher than the June forecast, up 100 percent from 2008, and 27 percent above the production in 2007.

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June Crop Production Report

First look at summer fruit crop prospects, most are down from 2008.

Farm Progress News
By: Compiled by staff
Published: Jun 15, 2009

The USDA, NASS, California Field Office has released the crop production forecast for June. The
latest survey, which was conducted during the last week of May and the first week of June, includes the following commodities:

Apricots - The 2009 California apricot crop forecast is 66.0 thousand tons, down 14% from the 2008 crop. Bearing acreage is estimated at 10.7 thousand acres, resulting in a yield of 6.17 tons per acre. Despite frosts and water shortages, the production of California apricots is expected to be fairly normal, though down from the high production of recent years. Overall, bloom was reported to be good. Fruit set and quality are reported to be good. Harvest began in mid-May. The sensitivity of apricots to weather, economics, market demand and foreign competition continues to drive many apricot growers to pull trees to put in more profitable crops.

Cherries - The 2009 California sweet cherry crop forecast is 75.0 thousand tons, down 13% from the 2008 crop. Bearing acreage is estimated at 27.0 thousand acres, resulting in a yield of 2.78 tons per acre. Spring weather generated occasional rain and cool temperatures for California's sweet cherry crop. Storms early in the month produced some damage to Brooks and Burlat varieties. Brooks and Bing cherry harvests continued.

Peaches - The 2009 California Freestone peach crop forecast is 370 thousand tons, unchanged from the May forecast, but down 13% from the 2008 crop. Bearing acreage is estimated at 28.0 thousand, resulting in a yield of 13.2 tons per acre. California experienced an adequate number of chilling hours, thus benefiting the Freestone crop. Freezing temperatures hit California in early March, resulting in frost damage in some areas. Frost damage, along with a decrease in the bearing acres, has resulted in an estimated lower production for the 2009 crop. Harvest continued during May with Spring Flame, Super Rich and Snow Angel the major varieties harvested. Demand is reported to be good.

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