Among Other Things : They're out on a limb much of the time

Cherry orchard operators literally go out on a limb several times a year — gambling against such things as killing spring freezes after an unusually warm winter; weather that will permit bees to do their pollinizing jobs; hoping to avoid rain during the harvest season; having an adequate supply of pickers; coordinating deliveries to processing plants to avoid gridlocks that result in spoiled fruit. Then, of course, there's marketing, shipping, orchard maintenance, development of new strains of cherries, etc.

That should do for a starter. Some of the things growers can do little, if anything, about — notably the weather.

But some things, they can do something about. Among these are recognizing the need for a technologically sound processing, packing and shipping systems using state-of-the-art equipment, solid research and development programs, and professional, consistent management.

The 100-member Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Assn. recognized the need for these things six years ago, when they were faced with obsolete equipment, management that changed every year, antiquated packing methods, marketing limitations and more. In 1998, the situation was made drastically clear when a large crop proved too big to handle and a large percentage of fruit rotted. The next year orchard owners took advantage of the services offered by the Monson Fruit Company of Selah, Wash.

Brian Campbell of Finley Point, speaking to the monthly breakfast meeting of the Polson Presbyterian Men's Club last Saturday, indicated that these were among the reasons the association became affiliated with Monson.

No cherries are packed here now by Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Assn. members, Campbell said. Instead, a huge hydrocooler washes the cherries and cools them from 70 degrees to 35 degrees in a matter of seconds to keep the fruit firm.

Campbell, field representative of the Monson Company for the Flathead Lake area, said it's possible to get the cherries from the processing plant on Finley Point to a market in Asia in 32 hours. Emphasis is being placed on developing markets in India, Russia and China. And growers receive good prices for their products — $1.80 per pound last year.

At this time Flathead Lake sweet cherries are harvested as the Washington crop is winding down. That helps prices, too.

A tree-killing spring freeze in 1989 resulted in drastic changes in the local cherry industry. Campbell said that many growers lost interest in the venture; old trees were removed; newer, more weather resistant strains, such as the Lapin, were introduced, and attempts were made to improve processing and packing. But the latter fell short.

Now during harvest time, bins of cherries are loaded into refrigerated trucks and shipped in 100-bin lots to the packing plant in Washington. There they are sorted, sized, packed in one, two, five and 20-lb. lots and sent to market. On a good day on Finley Point, 10 truckloads may be loaded.

Domestically, Monson sells the fruit to such outlets as Wal-Mart as "Super Cherries," and to Sam's Club and Costco.

Campbell, who has a degree in biology from the U of M, also manages another 30 acres of orchard. His responsibilities as Monson field representative include scheduling picking times to keep a smooth delivery flow. He's also a year 'round consultant advising orchardists of various developments and improvements in the industry and how they might be applied locally.

Despite technological improvements in production methods, the actual field picking is labor intensive. For instance, 50 to 60 pickers are needed for 10 to 12 days to harvest 25-30-acre orchard in a good year. Good pickers can earn up to $125 a day, he said.

Change continues to be the name of the game. The Monson Company keeps abreast of research and development done by universities and Extension Services in Washington and Oregon, constantly looking for ways to improve production and develop a larger, firmer fruit.

The trend is to develop "pedestrian orchards" of shorter trees, planted more densely into a virtual hedge or wall of trees, which will eliminate the need to use ladders.