WENATCHEE — Sweet cherry growers in Washington state are eligible for up to $500,000 in federal Emergency Farm Loans following a formal disaster declaration from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for the 2023 cherry harvest season.
The designation will result in low-interest emergency loans for cherry farmers, according to a news release from the offices of U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, Patty Murray, and U.S. House Representative Kim Schrier on Tuesday.
"Last year, Washington's cherry growers lost around half their crop to extreme weather. Now, as they prepare to kick off their new season, this disaster designation from the Secretary of Agriculture will help growers access federal assistance to keep this $1 billion industry going — and ensure Washington's famously delicious sweet cherries make it into shopping carts," Cantwell said in the release.
Warm weather last spring caused the Washington cherry harvest season to compress from the usual 90 days to 30 days, while at the same time, rain and cold weather delayed the California cherry harvest season, causing both to overlap and resulting in an oversupply of cherries on the market.
Because of the compressed cherry season, many farmers opted not to pick all of their cherries to save labor costs, resulting in a 50% loss of the cherry crop, according to the release.
However, Northwest Cherries, managed by the Washington State Fruit Commission, estimated a cherry crop of 22-23 million 20-pound boxes of cherries for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Utah in 2023. But due to the compressed market, the total amount of cherry boxes harvested was estimated at around 18 million.
"Washington state is famous for our delicious sweet cherries — but throughout the 2023 season, sweet cherry growers in our state saw major weather-driven losses and were forced to leave crops unharvested," Murray said in the release. "This disaster declaration will open up access to emergency loans to help sweet cherry growers get back on their feet — I want to thank President Biden and his administration for always supporting Washington state growers."
In February, the Washington congressional delegation sent Vilsack a letter to ask him to declare a Secretarial Disaster Designation for the 2023 Washington cherry harvest. Gov. Jay Inslee also requested a Secretarial Disaster Designation.
"Through no fault of their own, our cherry growers experienced immense challenges and economic losses last season, with data showing growers experienced losses of more than 50%," Schrier said in the release. "That's why I proudly joined my colleagues in the Washington delegation in calling for a disaster declaration to help our growers recover and prepare for this upcoming growing season, and I'm pleased to see the administration officially make this declaration."
