Cool weather sets cherry crops 'weeks' behind schedule in lead-up to Christmas
Cherries are considered a high-risk, high-reward crop. (ABC News: Jake Evans)
In short:
Cold weather in some growing regions including central Victoria has put cherries behind schedule in the lead-up to the fruit's peak demand period.
Produce subscription service Farmers Pick says it has been saving thousands of kilograms of the fruit from waste.
What's next?
Cherry Growers Australia says it is expecting cherry production to lift from 20,000 tonnes to 30,000t by 2030.
Cold weather in central Victoria has delayed the cherry season as the fruit's peak demand period over Christmas approaches.
Victoria produces about 4,500 tonnes of cherries each year, falling behind Tasmania which is the largest cherry growing region in Australia.
Cherry Growers Australia expects production to lift from 20,000 tonnes to reach about 30,000t by 2030.
Blackwood Orchard owner Colin Pickering said the weather had put his crops two weeks behind schedule.
"Lately we've been getting these polar or Antarctic blasts, that’s kept temperatures down and slowed everything," Mr Pickering said.
"By now we’d be through our first variety; at the moment our 'merchants' [a large heart‐shaped variety], which are normally our early ones, are only just coming on."
Colin Pickering and his wife Suzanne farm near Harcourt North. (ABC Rural: Eden Hynninen)
Mr Pickering said the fruit was very sensitive to temperature and it would not take much to get the fruit ripening.
"If we could get consistent 30-degree days and nights above about 10 degrees, things would move along quickly," he said.
"When nights drop to 5 degrees the trees basically stop, then start again.
"Another issue is that the cherries start to bunch up, so you end up with two or three varieties ripening at the same time — that makes things very busy."
Cherry crops could be weeks behind schedule. (Supplied: Cherry Growers Australia)
Waste not, want not
Each year, supermarket retailers reject hundreds of thousands of kilos of "imperfect" cherries for their slightly odd shapes and sizes.
Produce box subscription service Farmers Pick says it is on track to divert 140,000 kilograms of cherries from going to waste this season.
Josh Ball says he has saved 140,000 kilograms of cherries from waste this season. (Supplied: Josh Ball)
Director and co-founder Josh Ball said he was shocked to learn the volume of cherries supermarkets rejected, considering their extremely short season.
"There are thousands, if not millions, of kilos of cherries wasted because of the way they look," he said.
"Minor imperfects drive cherries to be rejected — sometimes they're too small, not red enough or just even missing the stem, and that's enough to get them knocked back.
"One of my favourite ones is when we get two attached to each other and the taste is very rarely impacted."
Mr Ball said cherry farmers had no viable alternative supply chain for fruit rejected by the supermarkets prior to this arrangement.
"There's very rarely different outlets for them to sell imperfect cherries, which is why we wanted to be the alternative for them to move the unwanted stock even though they still taste delicious," he said.
Red Christmas
Penny Measham says she has recently visited Australia's cherry growing regions. (Supplied: Cherry Growers Australia)
Cherry Growers Australia chief executive Penny Measham said despite the slight delay in some regions this year, growing conditions nationally had overall been favourable.
"On the whole, the season is shaping up really nicely, just slightly delayed and that delay is being seen across multiple regions," she said.
"Cherries have a relatively short harvest window compared to other crops, but this year the harvest is looking very good.
"There’s a strong crop maturing on the trees: I think we’ll see a steady supply across the season, and quality should be excellent from what I’m already seeing."