As it turns out, you can have too much of a good thing.
Dr. Louise Swanberg, owner of an orchard near Lakeside, came to this realization after growing 100,000 pounds of cherries on her trees and only being able to sell 35,000.
“We had a great crop, but no market,” Swanberg said.
As a result, Swanberg said she gave away 35,000 pounds and left the rest on the cherry tree branches. She didn’t break even financially this summer, a trend that is getting old for most growers.
“I can’t stay in business for too many years without a profit and call it viable,” Swanberg said. “I think this kind of repetitive disaster will put some small orchards out of business.”
Many Flathead cherry orchard owners had similar stories, a troubling sign for Flathead’s favorite fruit, according to county and state officials.
“It’s at a critical time right now,” said Patricia McGlynn, an agent with Flathead County Agriculture, Natural Resource and Community Development Extension. “If we don’t do something about the cherry industry really soon, they’re going to become housing developments.”
The problem isn’t with cherry production – it’s selling the fruit.
Roadside stands still work for tourists, growers said, but demand is low for one of the major distributors of Flathead cherries. Many growers also concede that the Flathead’s most popular cherry, the Lambert, is on its way out.
“I’m taking out my Lambert trees,” said Flathead Lake Cherry Growers board member Ken Edgington. “The Lambert is a very fine cherry, but it doesn’t transport very well.”
Members of the FLGC co-op send 80 percent of their cherries to Washington to be processed by Monson Fruit Company. This has turned into a problem for growers when the cherry seasons coincide.
“If Washington state has a bumper crop, they don’t need Flathead cherries,” McGlynn said.
Edgington, owner of Bear Dance Orchard, said the Flathead once had an edge on the market because it had the latest growing season in the Northwest, but now the orchards in Washington and Oregon are on the same schedule. It’s a reoccurring problem that is starting to hurt local growers.
“Twice in the last three years, they’ve locked us out,” Swanberg said. “We’re starting to have major issues with being last on the list.”
Because Washington had so many cherries this year, Swanberg said the FLCG distributor would only pay for the largest Flathead cherries. Smaller cherries that would normally bring in money were purchased for a small fee or not all, she said
For many growers, the choice has come down to producing a later-blooming cherry and avoiding the Northwest growing season, or taking their lumps and hoping for a market turnaround.
The overabundance of cherries this year is driving down cherry prices across the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasted price declines because of an expected record crop for sweet cherries this year, up 52 percent from 2008.
Edgington said the stagnant market is a downward pattern that many farmers recognize as part of the business. He said the FLCG is adapting by growing new kinds of cherries for Monson, such as the Lapin, a dark red, crack-resistant fruit.
“We’re trying to protect ourselves for the future,” Edgington said.
County and state officials are also looking out for the Flathead’s cherry industry. McGlynn is working with cherry growers and the state to start a research study on the lake’s cherry orchards. The study would focus on new crops, tree density and maximum tonnage per acre.
State Department of Agriculture Director Ron de Yong said he is aware of the cherry industry’s problems. The state is looking at an array of solutions to avoid leaving cherries on the branches, he said, including marketing value-added products, such as dried cherries or anti-oxidant cherry juice. There is also a push to research markets in Eastern Montana.
“We just want to find a market for our cherry growers,” de Yong said. “The cherry industry is a tough one to be in.”
Some orchard owners have already branched out with their businesses. Glacier Fresh Cherries owner Cody Herring processes his own cherries as well as those of other orchards. He said he doesn’t grow Lamberts.
“There’s the lack of desire to change for the Lambert growers,” Herring said. “If we don’t move forward, we’re going to kind of get run over by Washington state.”
Herring is not a member of the FLGC, so he does not compete with the Washington market. In fact, he doesn’t even compete with the local market. All of Herring’s cherries are sold internationally, with his biggest sellers in England, Belgium, Spain, Italy, France and Taiwan.
The variety of cherries he grows – Lapins, Rainiers, Sweethearts and Kootenais – gave the company a successful summer even with prices down from last year, Herring said.
Many orchards grow several kinds of cherries, but most work with old trees, McGlynn said. Herring believes a younger orchard makes better economic sense because smaller trees mean less work and money spent on sprays or fertilizer. So far, he said, most growers he has spoken with are hesitant to switch over.
But some growers say it’s difficult, financially and socially, to replace their Lambert trees.
“They’re an awfully popular tasting cherry, people love them,” Swanberg said. The local demand is for Lamberts, she said, but the distributor demand is for bigger, crispier cherries such as Lapins or Sweethearts.
“You have to decide, ‘Well, I’ll grow Lamberts for my friends and to sell at the road and I’ll grow something else for the warehouse a week later just to make some money,’” Swanberg said.
Cherry grower Tom Lawrence takes an experimental approach in his Bigfork orchard. He grows 22 varieties of cherries to observe how well they grow. Lawrence has been growing cherries for 45 years. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 30 years, followed by a job as a state fruit and bee inspector. He’s currently helping Flathead County with a cherry fruit fly study.
Though he doesn’t sell his fruit, Lawrence thinks the Flathead orchards need to change their business approach toward Lamberts.
“Size is what’s important,” Lawrence said. “Size and flavor and lateness.”
In his orchard, Lawrence grows Bentons, Bings and Sweethearts on different types of trees. He also tries different pruning and spacing techniques.
“They’ve told us for maybe five years that the Lambert cherry isn’t going to do it for us anymore,” Lawrence said. “Some people are listening, some aren’t.”
In her proposed research study, McGlynn said she would like to help orchard owners decide on what to do with their land and cherry distribution methods. The study would take five years, because it takes a tree three years to produce fruit, McGlynn said.
Swanberg supports the study, saying the problem needs a scientific solution, not one based on emotions. Until then, she hopes the tradition of Flathead cherry orchards finds a way to adapt.
“It’s possible that cherry orchards will grow better condos,” Swanberg said. “I just don’t want to do that at all.”