Cherry growers throughout Australia are experiencing significant headaches this cherry season. The culprits are unseasonably cold weather across central Victoria. According to Penny Measham, chief executive of Cherry Growers Australia, this season is running a little late. Yet, she’s hopeful, as the rest of the harvest appears healthy. The highest demand for cherries always occurs at the Christmas season. Given all of these circumstances, this timing makes these delays especially worrisome for farmers as well as retailers.
Victoria cherry production hovers in the ballpark of 4,500 tonnes per year, while Tasmania is the single biggest cherry-growing state in the nation. As growers deal with the after effects of the recent cold snaps, many are worried about how it will affect their crops. Colin Pickering, a farmer from Harcourt North, gave an emotional testimony about the damage wrought by extreme weather.
“If we could get consistent 30-degree days and nights above about 10 degrees, things would move along quickly,” – Colin Pickering.
He continued on to say that when nighttime temperatures reach 5 degrees, cherry trees just stop growing (in homespun language). This type of disruption brings the ripening period for all varieties into a simultaneous period creating a bottleneck in the harvest chain.
Wasted Potential
Even with such a great supply of cherries, a shocking one-third of all produce goes to waste because of minor blemishes. Retailers are known to be tough on cherries, dropping them for little faults like a size in the bag or a color variation. Josh Ball, director and co-founder of an organization focused on minimizing cherry waste, emphasized the magnitude of this issue.
“There are thousands, if not millions, of kilos of cherries wasted because of the way they look,” – Josh Ball.
So far this season, Ball has kept the equivalent of 140,000 kilograms of cherries out of the landfill. He pointed out that most of the dejected cherries are still delicious and of top-notch quality. Unfortunately, for many of them, they don’t have market based viable options.
“On the whole, the season is shaping up really nicely, just slightly delayed and that delay is being seen across multiple regions,” – Penny Measham.
In making her case, Ball highlighted the need for alternative outlets for less-than-perfect fruit. Though cherries that are stuck to one another may not look pretty, he shared that they still taste great! Yet their appearance too frequently results in them sitting unsold.
A Promising Outlook
Cherry farmers already deal with burdens from nature and the market’s refusal to accept cherries that aren’t perfect. Despite all that, they’re still hopeful about the upcoming harvest. Measham noted that favorable growing conditions exist nationally, suggesting that the overall quality of this year’s crop will meet consumer demand when it arrives.
Given the limited harvest window for cherries and other nature-based solutions crops, it requires prompt action to make sure these crops are harvested at their most ripe. As growers adapt to changing conditions and consumer expectations, they remain hopeful that their efforts will yield a bountiful harvest soon.
“Cherries have a relatively short harvest window compared to other crops, but this year the harvest is looking very good,” – Penny Measham.
