‘Tis the season to be merry and enjoy a cherry, or two, or three.
But tough seasonal conditions in the South West of Western Australia have meant the local festive fruit may not be as plentiful this year.
The Southern Forest Food Council, which represents growers in the Manjimup region, say some orchards in the South West are experiencing crop losses of more than 90 per cent.
Josh Cusato grows cherries on his 20-hectare property near Donnybrook, 200 kilometres south of Perth.
Donnybrook cherry grower Josh Cusato says it has not been a good season. (ABC South West: Kate Forrester)
The third-generation farmer said harvest usually started in late November, but this year was a different story.
“We haven’t had enough chill hours this season, so that’s really affected certain varieties and the amount our trees are producing,” Mr Cusato said.
“The change of weather the past few years has had a big impact on our production, but this one especially.”
Mr Cusato says his cherry trees did not get enough chill hours during winter. (ABC South West: Andrew Williams )
The cherry grower acknowledged it was a wider problem than just his own crop, meaning the price shoppers would be paying for their local Christmas staple could increase.
“The demand is going to be there this year because of the lack of availability, so I estimate cherries to fetch a higher price,” Mr Cusato said.
Nothing to sell
Linda Moore is a part of a family-run cherry orchard in the Perth Hills.
“Our orchard is in the Araluen Valley. We have a particularly interesting microclimate, which provides us with those cool temperatures cherries need,” she said.
“We like to get frost in May, but this year it was still 36 degrees (Celsius) then.
“The trees were really confused.”
Each year, Irymple orchard opens to locals to sell direct from the farm, but Ms Moore said due to a range of factors, including the weather, they had no fruit to even sell commercially.
Linda Moore at her Roleystone cherry orchard. (ABC News: Julian Robins)
“Coca Cola were taking water from our valley and we also got hit by a tornado earlier in the year, which blew our packing shed over,” she said.
“Our trees are producing no fruit this year so we have no income. It’s really disappointing income-wise but also for our loyal customers.”
A ‘cherry-inspired’ festival
Despite the tough season in the South West, Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival organisers have committed to going ahead on December 14.
Chair of the annual celebration Pam Bodsworth said while local cherries would not be the star of the show there would still be plenty of other produce on display.
The Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival has been running since 2002. (ABC News: Bridget Fitzgerald)
“I’m totally sympathetic to cherry growers but there’s more to the festival than just cherries,” she said.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had a low cherry crop and farmers have always been very supportive.
“Farmers don’t need the cherry festival to sell their product, we know that, but they’ve never said no.”
