Hood River Cherry unscathed by recent weather events
Hood River Cherry unscathed by recent weather events
Brad Fowler, president and owner of Hood River Cherry Co., said conditions are ripe for a quality cherry season in Oregon’s Hood River Valley. “In my little part of the world, production will be up 20 percent this year,” he said, noting that his orchards somehow missed the climatic drama experienced by other growers in the Pacific Northwest.
“The first half of the pollination season was rainy, so pollination wasn’t good in some areas. Warm weather was conducive to bee pollination in the second half of the season,” he said.
Brad Fowler, president and owner of Hood River Cherry Co. (Photo courtesy of Hood River Cherry Co.)The family-owned business is a late-deal cherry producer. “We specialize in high-elevation cherries,” Fowler said, adding that the physical conditions at high-elevation orchards give the cherries a rich, sweet flavor not found at lower elevations. This season, he expects the harvest will begin around July 15, and production is expected to conclude at the end of August.
“We deal with tree-ripe cherries. Tree ripe is easy to say but difficult to do,” Fowler commented.
This season, the company will have two helicopters on standby, ready to take to the air if it rains. Fowler said water droplets can get into the stem and skin, causing cherries to crack. “The helicopters hover along minutes after the rain to blow the water off the cherries,” he explained.
While many Northwest cherry producers are trimming down on the number of Lapin orchards, Fowler said quite the opposite is true for Hood River Cherry Co. “For high elevations in Hood River, they are the cherry of choice,” he stated.
Hood River Cherry Co. markets fruit under the “Hood River Cherry Co.” label in the United States. “We anticipate our first shipments to China this year,” Fowler said. Cherries are also exported to England and France.
