Some tart cherry growers are finding it hard to continue

Michigan is the largest producer of tart cherries in the nation, but with rising production costs, combined with low wholesale prices, it’s getting harder for farmers to make ends meet. A Fremont farmer has found that out firsthand.

“I'm the fifth generation on the farm,” said Eric Roossinck.

His family has been growing fruit on his farm for a hundred years. Their primary crop is apples.

“We've got about 500 acres between a couple different farms of apples,” said Roossinck.

For as long as he remembers they also have had a small tart cherry operation. “Right here is our only cherry orchard, which is about 15 acres,” he says.

He says growing tart cherries has its challenges.

“The staple market for tart cherries has been the dessert industry, and that's been on a major decline,” said Roossinck.

Low market demand combined with rising labor costs is leading to some tough economic challenges.

Roossinck says, “[There are] different studies on the cost of production. Some [are] between 25 to 40 cents a pound; we're probably a little less than that.”

Unfortunately, recent wholesale prices for tart cherries are below what it costs to grow. Roossinck says it has been tough to get 20 cents a pound over the last several years.

That’s leaving him and others to consider not growing tart cherries.

Roossinck says, “Because our primary business is apples, if we needed the space to plant more apple trees, these would be gone. They won’t be here in a couple of years; I’ll tell you that.”

“The industry is not going anywhere,” said Nate Chesher with the Cherry Marking Institute. He says Michigan cherry acres have remained steady and some orchards are adding trees.

“Fluctuating prices is nothing new to people in agriculture. Farming is very hard; low crop prices happen; good crop prices happen; unfortunately you are catching us in a bit of a down period in the last couple of years. We will be back strong,” said Chesher.

Eric thinks the large cherry producers can survive this downturn but is unsure if small growers like him can pull it off. “Farmers are eternally optimistic," he says. "So, we just hope that, you know, the economics are different next year with supply or consumption, or something will either keep going or we'll take them out.”

The Cherry Marking Institute says despite low wholesale prices, they are confident that cherry production in Michigan will remain strong.

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