NACHES, Wash. — For many farmers, 2024 brought a much better cherry season than 2023, when a disaster was declared -- but that doesn't mean it was easy to turn a profit. KING 5 visited a cherry orchard in Naches to learn about the challenges to making money on the beloved Washington export.
Kevin Knight runs Knight Orchards in Naches, which he took over from his father after picking his first cherry at age five. He went to school for engineering, but loved being outside and wanted a job where he could connect with nature -- so he stuck with it. While it is work he enjoys, the business is challenging -- first, because of the unpredictable nature of Washington weather.
Rain can get into the vascular system or absorb into the fruit's cuticle and skin, swelling the cherries until they crack -- or it can pummel the outside of the fruit, causing the skin to split. Heat can scorch them, and in 2021, the heat dome hampered harvests for many farmers. Light frost can kill them, and in 2022 a spring cold snap meant only 13 million boxes of Washington cherries - down from an expected 20 million or so.
In 2023, lawmakers say 35% went to waste after cold weather caused California's cherry harvests to line up with Washington's.
"They call it a pipeline to get out to the stores and it was plugged, we didn't make any money last year," Knight said.
Outside of the weather, Knight says costs for almost everything have gone up, starting with his top expense-- wages-- followed by chemicals, which have inflated in price. In addition, analysts say prices at the grocery store are dependent on marketing strategies, mergers and other factors that sellers have little control over.
Knight says there are also a lot of regulations that can become expensive.
"We have a lot of new rules and requirements to ensure that everyone is taking care of their workforce and taking care of their environment in the way they produce, but we're often competing against producers in other states and countries where there's different rules," said Jon DeVaney, President of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. "We can't price our producers so uncompetitive that we lose market share to those not producing In the responsible way we do here."
Fortunately, Knight says it looks like he may be able to turn a profit on cherries this year. He says not everyone had a great season since everyone is impacted by different weather and other factors -- but for him, it's been better than the past few years.