Cherry growers and other industry leaders from Leelanau County got their first up-close meeting with the new face of their favorite fruit, and their conversations went far beyond the niceties of a meet and greet.
Growers and processors brought their concerns about the future of cherries in Leelanau to Amy Cohn at a session hosted in mid-January by the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station. They showed a high level of anxiousness short of panic.
Cohn, who recently was named president of the Cherry Industry Administrative Board and the Cherry Marketing Institute, brought a vision to the table discussion.
“We need to pave the way to a future with cherries with a light in it. Right now if I was going to buy a farm, I would be nervous,” she said.
An appreciative and animated Cohn, who placed emphasis on downbeats in her sentences with hand and arm movements, didn’t flinch when cherry farmers talked about several unprofitable seasons. She’s a dietitian by profession who spent the past 17 years with General Mills promoting cold cereals — another industry losing ground.
“Even though I’m a dietitian, I know you win by leading with the heart. We need to tell the story of what’s happening with cherries. As much as people love technology and convenience, people are craving comfort and warmth,” she said.
Cherries have a better story to tell than Cherrios, Cohn continued, although it’s not been told well in the past.
“I think the more we show our warmth and our commitment and how much we believe in cherries — and that it’s also about health — people will be drawn to cherries,” she said.
The discussion drew about a dozen people, most of whom spoke. Included was Phil Hallstedt, whose business plan for Hallstedt Homestead Cherries relies heavily on cherries as a social event more than a commodity.
Hallstedt agreed with Cohn’s strategy.
“We need to build excitement … We have to get their hearts involved. I think what we need right now is marketing. And you bring that,” he said.
“I’m real excited about your energy,” said East Leland grower and former county extension agent Jim Bardenhagen. “One of the problems I’ve seen is how much money we’ve poured into advertising with no increase in sales. I don’t want to know how many people clicked on a button. I want to know how many people bought the product.”
Bardenhagen’s son, Chris Bardenhagen, discussed a study he headed putting the cost to grow tart cherries at about double recent 20-cent and lower perpound compensation paid growers.
“I don’t think anybody in this room would deny we’re under the cost of production,” he said.
Ever-growing land values have compounded the problem. Grower Jim Nugent of Suttons Bay Township, former director of the Horticultural Center, said some time in the 1980s the money made by cherry growers added up to less than land payments.
Leelanau grows more sweet and tart cherries than any other county in the nation.
“It’s a challenge because if that land doesn’t go into the next generation, it’s real difficult for someone else to come in and get started. As we see (farmers) pull out of cherries, I’m really concerned. When you have farming in your heart, it really hurts,” he said.
Cohn found support from others involved in cherries as well, including the owner of Traverse City-based Benjamin Twiggs, a gift store that specializes on cherry-related products. Leisa Eckerle-Hankins’ father, Jim Ecklerle, and her 25-year-old son continue growing cherries on the family farm near Suttons Bay. She formed the Michigan Cherry Grower alliance last spring to address grower deficits and give them a voice in wholesale pricing.
“It’s more than making a living. It’s a story of who we are. We need to create nostalgia to bring cherries back … I believe the industry will come back. We just need to come together.”
And she learned that community support is strong for cherries from Gary Kaberle, who has made it his job to take photos of cherry events for decades. Kaberle, a dentist from Traverse City who is past president of the National Cherry Festival, had returned in early January from a mission of delivering and promoting cherries during events associated with the Rose Bowl. He’s lamented for years that cherry products are difficult to find in grocery stores outside of northwest Michigan.
“I want to make a difference and help make cherries happen. I care about you people. We can’t let it fall,” he said.
Cohn believes in that same mission.
“Right now cherries are a niche. We want to make them mainstream,” she said.
