07/16/2026
That's a wrap on cherry harvest 2026.
The fruit was there. The quality was there. Unfortunately, the market wasn't. Once again, it looks like grower returns will lag well behind the cost of producing and harvesting the crop—a reality that's completely outside the control of the people growing it. Adding to the frustration, perfectly good fruit was left on the trees or dumped at packing houses because it didn't meet increasingly strict size requirements. For a crop harvested during one of the world's biggest sporting events, it felt like a missed opportunity to remind consumers that Northwest cherries are one of summer's best products.
Now comes the waiting. We won't know the final numbers until November, but like so many growers across the Pacific Northwest, we're simply hoping the check is a little bigger than what we put into producing the crop.
Until then, we'll catch up on sleep, get back to the work that doesn't stop after harvest, and start preparing for next season.
