Apr 7, 2007

Sweet Cherry Grower Makes Harvesting Go More Efficiently

The Dalles is a great place to raise sweet cherries. With rich volcanic soils to grow in, the Cascade Mountains to shield against rain, few major pests to deal with and the Columbia River for irrigation, it’s one of the best places in the Northwest for sweet cherry production, David Maier said.

Maier, 51, has been farming in north-central Oregon since his father bought a 20-acre orchard in 1969. Maier worked in the orchard as a child then came back after college and eventually took over. It’s a family operation. They’ve picked up bits and pieces of land over the years and now have about 150 acres scattered around the area. Maier’s mother and father are still involved in the business, and his wife’s parents have their own orchard. Maier’s three kids help out during harvest, and his daughter has shown interest in taking over one day.

This year’s sweet cherry harvest started June 17 and ended July 19 – 33 straight days of “controlled panic.” When it was over, Maier was ready to relax.

“It was good and it was tough,” he said. “We’re not making any money (after harvest), but it’s always a relief.”

This year’s crop volume was huge. There were some size problems due to bad weather, but the overall quality was good.

Harvest has lengthened in the last decade or so, thanks to early and late varieties. The plethora of new fresh varieties, like Lapins, Sweethearts, Chelans and Rainiers, have transformed the industry Maier grew up in and will continue to do so.

“We don’t know what to plant,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s exciting.”

About half his cherries are sold fresh, the other half brined, frozen or canned. They are sold through a couple of packinghouses, he said.

A change in technique made the harvest more efficient this year. In past years, picked fruit would be dumped into 18-pound baskets and then dumped into bins. This year, the fruit was dumped directly into the bins, which were placed in the orchards. Subjecting the fruit to one dump instead of two lessens the potential for damage, he said.

The new technique needs some fine-tuning but for the most part was successful. It required less labor, too, which is a good thing, since the labor pool is tightening.

Maier hires about 120 workers during harvest, most of them pickers from Mexico. He had about 20 employees less than usual this year, but he has a good core group that keeps coming back. He houses his workers in four camps built in various orchards.

After harvest is over, orchards are cleaned up, equipment repaired and pruning started. It takes most of winter and fall to prune all 150 acres, but Maier and his half dozen or so year-round employees aren’t as pressed to get things done.

The region’s main pest is the western cherry fruit fly, but Spinosad has had some success keeping it under control, he said.

Maier will get rid of his last apple trees in the next year. The Dalles might be a great area for sweet cherries, but it’s not the best area to grow apples. Apples need cold nights in August and September to get good color, and it’s too warm in The Dalles at that time of year. The apples he grows aren’t good enough to be profitable, he said.