Cherry harvest underway after weekend moratorium

FINLEY POINT - Thus far, it’s been a great year for growing cherries. Until Monday, picking them had been another story, however.

Plentiful rain throughout the growing season has helped produce a crop of “really exceptional fruit,” according to Dale Nelson, president of the Flathead Cherry Growers Association (FCGA).

Although the cherries were ready for harvest by the weekend, sagging prices for the fruit in the national market led cherry producers throughout the Northwest to impose a moratorium on picking.

“The market national price was real low, so every packing house (in the region) stopped picking for a few days to give the price a chance to rebound,” Nelson said.

Picking resumed on Monday after a tense weekend in which uncertainty and unease rankled pickers and producers. Initially, it was unclear how long the temporary stoppage in work would last, forcing many migrant workers dependent on the season to nervously wait for their chance to pick and generate income.

Nelson reported that the delay in the harvest affected the 85-90% of local Flathead growers that are part of the FCGA co-op. He estimates that this year’s yield will total close to 2.5 million pounds of fruit.