Marketplace Today Blog

By Karen Herzog
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Door County cherry growers are eagerly anticipating a respectable crop of the iconic summer fruit after last year’s extreme weather nearly wiped it out.

“Our orchards are blessed with a very nice crop of both sweet and tart cherries this year,” said Jim Seaquist, a partner in his family’s Seaquist Orchards in Sister Bay, which produces more than half of the county’s tart cherries and about one-tenth of the lesser-known sweet cherries.

Wisconsin expects to harvest 8.3 million pounds of tart cherries this year — roughly 20 percent less than the bumper crop of two years ago, but a huge bounce from last year’s disastrous 600,000 pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Most of the state’s tart cherries grow in Door County, where 99 percent of the crop is dried, frozen, canned and bottled for trail mix, pie filling, bakery items and juices. One percent is sold fresh at roadside markets.

The harvest likely will begin a week to 10 days later than usual because of a cool spring.

But families hoping to pick tart cherries while vacationing in the picturesque peninsula will have no trouble filling their pails later this month, said cherry grower David Schartner of Schartner’s Farm Market in Egg Harbor. (Expect to pay $5 to $6 per 10-pound pail.)

Schartner expects his early varieties of tart cherries to ripen by the end of next week, followed by sweet cherries and later varieties of tart cherries. The pick-your-own season for tourists should begin around July 20, he said.

“Everybody is pleased with the crop,” Schartner said. “If we could hit some rain before the harvest, it would be especially good.”

Last year’s near wipe-out — blamed on an early January warm spell followed by a sudden freeze — may have disappointed tourists who wanted to pick cherries. But it didn’t hurt the county’s tourism overall, according to a study commissioned by the state Department of Tourism.

Door County in 2008 saw a 20-percent increase in tourism dollars spent, while the statewide total increased just less than 3 percent, according to the study, which ranked Door County sixth for traveler spending.

Travelers pumped an estimated $484 million into Door County’s economy in 2008, compared with $404 million in 2007. Statewide, travelers spent an estimated $13.2 billion in 2008, a 2.7% increase from 2007.

“The cherry industry in general plays an important role for Door County,” said Jon Jarosh, spokesman for the Door County Visitor Bureau. “Anyone from the Midwest has heard of Door County cherries, and hopefully has tasted them as well.”

Last year, when orchards were barely able to harvest enough to keep roadside markets stocked with fresh, local cherries, “we did get some calls from people asking about it,” Jarosh said. “People really enjoy picking cherries. I don’t know if a lot of people come up here exclusively for that, but it helps make the vacation experience fun. For many families, it’s tradition.”

Door County had banked plenty of processed cherries in reserve to make pies and other treats last year, he said.

But it was a devastating year for growers, who have been declining in number over the past decade.

“There are ebbs and flows in the crop, and every once in a while, you’ll have a year like last year,” Jarosh said.

A handful of growers did “pull the pin” after last year’s losses, Seaquist said.

“Older generations have really taken a hit, and people thinking about retiring and getting rid of their orchard” did so, he said.

Door County now has about 55 cherry growers — maybe five fewer than last year, said Seaquist, who serves as Wisconsin’s representative on the Cherry Industry Administrative Board, the national marketing group for tart cherries.

Seaquist Orchards is expanding its business, planting new trees to replace old trees on its 1,000 acres, Seaquist said.

Schartner’s 35-acre orchard is holding steady, including 8 acres of pick-your-own tart cherries.

He sells about 20 cherry products at his roadside market, from salsa and dried cherries to the number one item: cherry pie, of course.