Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/675334
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower MAY 15, 2016 7 separation between the end of the Bing crop and the beginning of the Skeena and Lapin harvest. The hottest June in history pushed the late crop forward and the gap our industry sales organizations expected to have between Bings and the Canadian varieties never devel- oped, causing some panic across the industry. Likewise, it is important to note that during the week of June 26, the estimate lagged behind actual shipments by over 1 million boxes (and incoming receipts were much, much higher). Why? In a word: heat. June was a record-setting month. The industry shipped an all-time record 11.8 million boxes in June and 14 million by July 4. As every cherry grower knows, we also saw the hottest June on record. In the words of Nic Lloyd at Washington State University's AgWeatherNet, "June 2015 here in the Northwest is in a class of its own in terms of temperatures." Statistically speaking, Lloyd said, June was at least a one in 400-year event. Those conditions were challenging both in the orchard and in the market. We saw unprecedented demand for our fruit from the beginning of the season through July 4. The two weeks following July 4 saw the industry strug- gle to move fruit as quickly as the compressed harvest demanded. For the first time, we saw Bings, Rainiers, Lapins, Skeena, Regina and Sweethearts being harvested at the same elevations all at the same time. Here is a quick look at the 2015 season by the numbers: —May fresh shipments were just over 400,000 boxes, a Northwest record. —The industry shipped for 77 days in 2015 — aver- aging 266,000 boxes per day — compared to 84 days in 2014, 81 days in 2013 and 92 days in 2012. —The industry shipped over 400,000 boxes per day for 23 days in 2015, and over 500,000 boxes per day for 11 days. —The largest shipment day was June 25 at 594,744 boxes. —The Rainier cherry pack was 1.7 million 15-pound equivalent boxes vs. 2.1 million 15-pound equivalent boxes in 2014. —Seventy percent of the crop went to the domestic market, and 30 percent to exports. —California finished shipping on June 8 and shipped 5.9 million 18-pound equivalent boxes. I know that this information does not offer any magic remedies, but I hope it at least gives our growers some further insight. I do not think the late season is doomed over the long haul; it has been on the short end of unsta- ble market dynamics the past two years. Growers are adamant that weather trends are cyclic, and the current cycle has been harder on the late growers and on our late varieties. While I believe the entire industry is better off with an early start that allows for ample shelf space for the July 4 holiday, the sustained heat of over 100 degrees changes the playing field for growers, sales organizations and domestic and export markets. • B.J. Thurlby is the president of Northwest Cherries. Being in the sweet cherry business, we all know that no season ever seems to play out the same. Every season is about high hopes for a truly unique and outstanding product. But every season seems to have different nuances and issues that come into play.