Utah cherry crop is looking luscious

It's looking like a fairly good year for growing cherries in Utah, especially given recent growing seasons.

After an almost total crop loss last year because of cold weather, Utah farmers are expected to harvest 2.8 million pounds of sweet cherries this summer.

The forecast for tart cherry production is even better. Utah -- the nation's second-largest producer -- expects to harvest 23 million pounds, up 15 percent from the 2008 and 2007 crops.

Ray Rowley, a grower with Cherry Hill Farms in Santaquin, said this year's tart cherry crop could rival the state's record year of 1992 when 30 million pounds were produced. But he adds that recent hail storms and rains have damaged tart cherries in some sectors.

"The damage is only a small portion of the growing areas in the state," he said. "Production in Utah is fairly substantial -- we produce about 10 percent of the country's tart cherries."

Overall, U.S. tart cherry production is expected to spike nearly a third, to 283.6 million pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Tart cherries -- also called sour or pie cherries -- are best known as ingredients in desserts and beverages. The increase in this year's crop is unlikely to significantly affect consumer prices because nearly all tart cherries are frozen, canned or dried, and the supply is regulated.

Much of Utah's tart-cherry crop is dried and used in trail mixes and other snacks, said Rowley, a member of the Payson Fruit Growers co-op.

Michigan, the nation's largest producer, expects to harvest 220 million pounds of tart cherries, about 33 percent more than last year.

Perry Hedin, executive director of the Cherry Industry Administrative Board in DeWitt, Mich., said a larger crop this season was not unexpected in an industry noted for having large variations in annual production.

To ensure a steady supply in the market, processors stockpile cherries in years of surplus production and release them in off years, Hedin said. The industry has space to store up to 25 million pounds of tart cherries to keep them from flooding the market, he said.

The forecast also is sunny for the nation's crop of sweet cherries, found at farmer's market and elsewhere ready to eat.

Production is estimated at 374,500 tons, up 52 percent from last year and 21 percent above 2007.

In Utah, the sweet cherry harvest is expected to total 1,400 tons, a measure used by the USDA. Although cold spring weather affected this year's forecast, growing conditions are improved from last year when nearly the entire crop was lost because of cold temperatures and freezes.

Robert McMullin, with McMullin Orchards that encompasses 900 acres in three Utah County locations, worries that the actual sweet cherry harvest may be lower than forecast. Rains destroyed much of his sweet cherry crop, but it didn't affect the farm's tart cherries.

"We may have one our largest tart cherry crops in recent memory," said McMullin, whose family has farmed since 1927. "But sweet cherries absorb the water, which then splits the fruit. For us, that's been a bummer."

Washington, the nation's largest producer, is expected to produce 200,000 tons, up from 100,000 tons last year. The USDA reports that a cold winter and new plantings have benefited the 2009 crop.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.