June 17, 2010 - Most fruit harvests will be smaller than normal this year, thanks to an early bloom followed by late frosts. It happened in Michigan, and it happened in other states, too.
That was the overall message at the 55th annual Fruit Crop Guesstimate, held June 16 in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Guesstimate, organized by the Michigan Frozen Food Packers Association, attempts to predict the size of several fruit crops every year, not just in Michigan but across the country.
Peaches. The U.S. processed peach crop might be 525,000 tons this year. That’s down from last year’s total and the three-year average, according to Leo Steffens of Peterson Farms.
California grows about 80 percent of the nation’s processed peaches. The state’s crop will be down about 10 percent this year, its third smallest crop in modern history. Michigan’s crop will be down about 25 percent, Steffens said.
Blueberries. Blueberries are one of the few fruit crops that will be up this year, according to estimates. The national estimate for 2010 is 488 million pounds, up from 449 million in 2009. Michigan, the state that produces the most cultivated blueberries, will produce 103 million pounds this year, up from 99 million pounds last year. Indiana will produce 4 million pounds this year, up from 3.7 million in 2009, according to Frank Bragg of MBG Marketing.
Cherries. For tart cherries, the Guesstimate predicted a crop of 199.7 million pounds, 145 million pounds of that from Michigan. That was followed by 23 million pounds from Utah, 17 million pounds from Washington state, 7 million pounds from New York state, 3.8 million pounds from Wisconsin, and 1.7 million pounds each from Oregon and Pennsylvania, according to the presenters.
USDA released its own tart cherry estimate on June 17. The department forecast U.S. tart cherry production at 195 million pounds this year, slightly lower than the Guesstimate’s prediction of 199.7 million pounds. USDA’s Michigan estimate was 140 million pounds, also down slightly from the Guesstimate numbers.
“The crop potential was reduced markedly by frosts during bloom,” according to USDA.
For sweet cherries, the 2010 Michigan estimate is 30 million pounds processed and 1.5 million pounds fresh. That’s down from last year’s numbers of about 55 million pounds processed and 1.6 million pounds fresh. An early bloom followed by a cold snap in May had much to do with the smaller crop this year, said Al Steimel, general manager of Leelanau Fruit Co.
Apples. Denise Donohue, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, estimated a national apple crop of just over 200 million bushels for 2010, including 140 million bushels from Washington state, 24 million bushels from New York state, 15 million from Michigan, 10.3 million from Pennsylvania, 6.5 million from California and 5.3 million from Virginia.
- Matt Milkovich
|
