Bumper Cherry Crop Turns Sour

WSJ ^

[newbie2008]

Farmers in Michigan and six other states are harvesting a bumper crop of tart cherries. But the bounty is turning out to be the pits for farmers whose fruit is rotting in orchards instead of bubbling in cherry pies.

Under a Depression-era federal program designed to keep prices from plummeting, tart-cherry farmers are being told by fruit processors to leave up to 40% of their crop unharvested.

"It's kind of heartbreaking," said Rob Manigold, a tart-cherry farmer near Traverse City, Mich. Michigan grows about 75% of all the tart cherries in the U.S.

[pointsal]

Wanna bet those same fellas benefited somewhere along the line?

[djf]

Ever price cherry juice at a store?

I think we need to deduct how much that is valued at right off the top of Congresses salary.

[madison10]

Wanna bet they didn’t

[ConservativeMind]

This is freaking idiotic. The world eats our cherries, not just the US.

The excess would be sold elsewhere, but all would be sold for less than normal.

I hate federal control of the economy. It guarantees failure.

[newbie2008]

[ArchAngel1983]

"It's kind of heartbreaking,"

”Yes it is. One of the first times I can remember being truly outraged was when I was a child and watching dairy farmers on TV dump thousands of gallons of milk down storm drains because the price of milk had bottomed out. My family couldn’t afford milk half the time (used that powdered stuff) so watching this was especially heart wrenching.

[Secret Agent Man]

Price fixing.

Damn just sell the 40% you don’t want in the US market overseas or in Canada. Hell, or Mexico, they don’t have a lot of food down there.

[djf]

I know what you mean. It’s outrageous. They could at least be put on the shelves at the food banks!!

I remember years back, I saw a boy and his seemingly single mom at the supermarket. He asked her for plums, which were ripe and fragrant on the shelf.

“We can’t afford them...” and I was really touched, remembering how it was to grow up practically dirt poor.

But I didn’t do anything - it seemed awkward.

I’ll go to my grave wishing I had handed that kid a bag of plums and a five dollar bill and told him and his mom to have a nice day...

[ArchAngel1983]

”I’ll go to my grave wishing I had handed that kid a bag of plums and a five dollar bill and told him and his mom to have a nice day..."

Sir, that you even remember the incident and continue feeling badly about it speaks volumes about your character. I’d be willing to bet that you have more than made up for it since then.

[Marie Antoinette]

We went through a time when we couldn’t afford milk, although we still don’t buy it very often, just out of habit. I’d rather buy meat, but the kids like milk.

[SunkenCiv]

Ping!

[Berosus]

I guess this explains why I was getting great deals on cherries for the whole month of July. June was pretty good too.

[SunkenCiv]

Usually when produce is cheap, it’s better. One finds that with lettuce especially, around these parts. When the lettuce is high priced, it’s usually little spheres of crap.

[grellis]

If you would like to be added or dropped from the Michigan ping list, please freepmail me.

[justiceseeker93]

Moral of the story: Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Keynesian economics is still having negative effects on the American economy 64 years after his death.

Can't the farmers who have agreed not to market a good part of their cherry crop simply donate the remainder to charities to help feed the hungry? Problem might be that there is no federal program by which that can be done./ Sarc.?

[kcvl]

federal program designed to keep prices from plummeting

How about letting the market decide?!

[Clintonfatigued]

This is absolutely appalling. Like you said, they could donate that food to some worthy cause.

[SunkenCiv]

The best approach is to throw the unusable crop into the ethanol hopper.

[potlatch]

"Bitter Cherries", sounds like a love song gone bad!!!

Lord, I'll never live this one down...

[GOPJ]

Well, we kill perfectly good cars - are so far into debt that it'll take us a thousand years to get out from under it - and now this? What's next? Will they try to screw up heath care?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2322458/posts?page=12#12

[piasa]

I wonder what percentage of the average American family’s food budget is nothing more than expense due to government tinkering with prices?

[freekitty]

What and spoil their image? A democrat truly charitable?

[bamahead]

Under a Depression-era federal program designed to keep prices from plummeting, tart-cherry farmers are being told by fruit processors to leave up to 40% of their crop unharvested.



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[JrsyJack]

If I recall correctly the Feds bought up excess dairy production at market prices and stored it as millions of pounds of cheese and butter in the 70’s. I vote that the Fed now bake millions of cherry pies and have a bake sale to balance the budget. I'll pay a couple of bucks for an Obama pie...would even be willing to toss it back at my Congressman in November.

[JrsyJack]

Well...there is a dairy compact that artificially inflates milk prices, all corn is now subject to competition with the gov’t subsidized ethanol industry, wheat is price controlled as are most other grains, all imported off season fruits and vegetables are subject to gov’t tariff and then there are the taxes....

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[monday]

“The best approach is to throw the unusable crop into the ethanol hopper.”

better yet make cherry wine

[Old Professer]

Ethanol for fuel is currently under $1.60/gal; for drinking, about $120.00/gal.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) And that opens the door for cherry sherry...

[OB1kNOb]

That needs updated to reflect around 3.5 - 4 million job casualties.