16 CapitalPress.com
September 18, 2015
Sudden freeze decimates cherry crop
Milton-Freewater
orchard will need
two seasons to
recover
By GEORGE PLAVEN
E.J. Harris/EO Media Group
Cherry buds develop on
a Chelan cherry tree in a
6-year-old orchard northwest of
Milton-Freewater.
EO Media Group
E.J. Harris/EO Media Group
Milton-Freewater, Ore., cherry farmer Mick Oliver looks at cherry buds on a sweetheart cherry tree in one
of his older orchards. He believes that the trees will produce fruit next year despite last November’s hard
freeze.
ers don’t plant many acres in
cherries — just 650 total —
but the fruit typically blooms
about a month earlier than
Oregon’s highest producing
region around The Dalles,
which allows local cherries to
fetch a premium price.
Clive Kaiser, extension
horticulturist for Oregon State
University, said the crop usu-
ally brings in about $4.5 mil-
lion at the farm gate, which
was all lost this year due to
Mother Nature.
“This was probably the
most devastating freeze I’ve
ever seen,” Kaiser said.
The problem was just
how quickly the cold snap
set in. Fruit trees typically
go through a gradual process
of dormancy heading to win-
ter, when shorter days and
cooler weather signal them
to shed their leaves and draw
nutrients back in from their
branches.
But if extreme cold hap-
pens before the trees can accli-
mate to conditions, water will
freeze inside the plant’s cells,
killing buds overnight and, in
some cases, the entire tree.
That’s what happened last
November, Kaiser said, leav-
ing cherry orchards decimat-
ed. He figures any tree young-
er than three years old likely
didn’t survive, and those that
did will take at least several
years to grow new branches
and fruiting spores.
Kaiser doesn’t expect a
full cherry harvest until 2017,
at the earliest.
“For the growers, this is
still taking its toll,” he said.
“I think some guys are still in
denial.”
Apples did a better job
withstanding the cold, but
are still predicted to be down
about 20 percent. Umatilla
County grows more apples
than anywhere else in Ore-
gon, with 2,500 acres yielding
roughly 10 tons per acre.
Mick Oliver, who farms
roughly 60 acres of apples and
cherries north of town, said he
plans to replant one 10-acre
block of Skylar Rae and Chel-
an cherries next spring — so
long as the trees at the nursery
are in stock.
Even that won’t be easy.
Nursery trees in Wenatchee,
Washington won’t be avail-
able for at least 2-3 years,
according to Kaiser, due to
the high amount of damage
across the region.
Oliver is optimistic he will
be able to pick at least some
cherries next year, after wait-
ing to prune the damaged
Chelan FFA Members Successful
at NCW District Fair
Thirty-two Chelan FFA
The Chelan FFA
members picked up where they left
all dressed up on
Sale Day at the
off last year with a phenomenal
NCW District Fair
success rate at the NCW District
in Waterville, Wash.
Fair in Waterville, Wash.
First, all animals were judged
for their market readiness, quality,
and conformation. In the swine
barn 15 members brought pigs and
at the finals 7 of the 12 market hogs
brought back for the final drive
were from Chelan with Owen
Oules earning the Grand Champion
Market Hog Banner and Rosette.
Jake Horlebien brought two steers
to the Beef Barn and earned the
Reserve Champion Banner and
Rosette on market day for his
1,380-lb. Angus steer. In the Sheep Barn, 7 members brought
lambs and at the final drive 9 of the 12 lambs were from
Chelan. Jessie Oules made it 3 fairs in a row with the Grand
Champion FFA Market Lamb.
Twelve members brought meat goats and 11 of the 12 goats
in the finals were exhibited by the Chelan Chapter. Bobby
Hanson made it back to the winners circle with the Reserve
Grand Champion Meat Goat. Dianna Sanchez had the Grand
Champion Nubian Doe and Zoee Stamps had the Grand
Champion Halter Horse, as well.
In the Still Life Barn, starting in the Home Produced
Products division: Bobby Hanson had the Grand Champion
Eggs, Sarah Goyne had the Grand Champion Art Project.
Amanda Reeves received both the Grand and Reserve
Champion ribbons in Ornamental Horticulture for her floral
arrangements. Jessie Oules was Grand and Tiffini Hawkins
Reserve in the Agronomy Plant Mount Division. Bobby
Hanson had the Grand Champion Hay Exhibit and was also the
Reserve Champion Overall Horticulture.
Stephanie Olivera had the Grand Champion Horticulture
Exhibit and Bobby Hanson was Reserve. Ty Miller had the
Grand Champion Agriculture Mechanics exhibit and Bobby
Hanson had the Reserve Champion exhibit.
On contest day in the Swine Fitting and Showing, Chelan
had 8 members in the finals and 3 of the final 4 with Katie
Gleasman winning the Reserve Champion Swine Fitting and
Showing Rosette. Jake Horlebien won the Reserve Champion
Beef Fitting and Showing Rosette and both he and Katie did a
nice job in the Round Robin. Zoee Stamps also earned a
Reserve Champion Rosette in Western Pleasure.
Chelan members won the Livestock Judging CDE with
Luke Gleasman placing third and Dane Schwartz, Bobby
Hanson, and Amanda Reeves placing 7th, 8th, and 9th
respectively. Chelan members earned the second place banner
in Produce Judging with Aislinn Davis placing 10th overall.
Chelan was also second in Tractor Driving with Michael
Tutino, Luke Gleasman, and Jake Horlebien placing 5th, 6th,
and 9th respectively.
38-2/#13
MILTON-FREEWATER, Ore.
— Vern Rodighiero had no
idea what was coming.
A year ago in November,
temperatures around Mil-
ton-Freewater plummeted by
nearly 60 degrees in a mat-
ter of days, dealing a sudden
massive blow to the valley’s
signature fruit crops.
Rodighiero, who farms
several hundred acres of or-
chards, lost all his cherries
and good amount of prunes
and plums. Apples fared bet-
ter, though many trees were
killed all the way down to the
roots.
“Nobody expected this,”
said Rodighiero, surveying
the damage from his truck.
“We’ll just have to rebuild. A
lot of areas will have to start
over.”
Cherries were especial-
ly hard-hit by the disastrous
2014 freeze. Not a single cher-
ry was harvested commercial-
ly in Milton-Freewater, and it
could take several years for
buds to blossom again.
Milton-Freewater grow-
wood off his surviving trees.
Since his orchards have a
higher density of trees, he said
it is worth it for him to harvest
even a partial crop.
“You’re going to take a hit,
but it’s just how you play the
game,” he said.
Milton-Freewater suffered
a similar freeze in 2010, and
Kaiser thinks atypical seasons
like this could become normal
for the area.
“If I were a farmer, I’d be
concerned about it,” he said.
“Every year, there seems to be
challenges.”
Oliver said he’s preparing
to not be caught off guard
again. He plans to shut off
his irrigation later this month,
which will artificially start the
hardening process.
And, though it might have
a negative effect on next year’s
fruit, he said it’s better than
risk losing entire orchards.
“You never have to go to
Vegas, because you’re gam-
bling every damn day growing
cherries,” he said with a smile.
Rodighiero said farmers
will lean on crop insurance
and federal assistance to help
carry them through this year,
but there’s a lot of work left
to do.
“Each one of these or-
chards is going to take a lot
of man-hours,” he said. “It’s
a disaster, we know that. It’s
something you live with and
try to do the best you can.”