Aug 1, 2012

Montana growers back to shipping cherries

Flathead Lake Cherry Growers resumed the cherry harvest for the national market on Monday after a few days’ break to lessen the glut of fruit from a robust season — and to assess damage from a rainstorm.

Ken Edgington, a member of the board of directors of Flathead Lake Cherry Growers, said the report of a moratorium on picking was “a poor choice of words” for the harvesting break of four days.

Edgington, who has orchards in Yellow Bay, said the reason for the break was two-fold.

“One, some areas down here got hit with a pretty heavy rainstorm,” he said. “Me for one. It absolutely devastated my Lamberts to the point that they are not worth picking.”

He said the micro-climates around Flathead Lake may wreck one variety for a grower and not impact the same variety just a half mile down the road. He said his later-ripening lapins were not damaged. Daily Inter Lake

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