Cherry production in Michigan
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Cherry production in Michigan is a major part of the agriculture industry in the state. Harvesting over 90,000 tons of cherries each year, Michigan is the nation's leading producer of tart cherries. The
Montmorency cherry The Montmorency cherry is a variety of sour cherry (''Prunus cerasus'') grown in Europe, Canada, and the United States, particularly in the Grand Traverse Bay region of Northwest Michigan and in Door County, Wisconsin. Montmorency cherries are par ...
is the variety of tart, or sour, cherry most commonly grown in the state. A Hungarian sour cherry cultivar, Balaton, has been commercially produced in Michigan since 1998. Michigan's cherry industry is highly vulnerable to a late spring frost, which can wipe out a season's harvest. This occurred most recently in 2012, when over 90% of the crop was lost. The Fruit Belt (also called the Fruit Ridge) of
western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...
, and, in particular, the
Grand Traverse Bay Grand Traverse Bay is a deep bay of Lake Michigan formed by the Leelanau Peninsula in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is long, wide, and up to deep in spots. It is further divided into two east and west arms by the Ol ...
region, produce most of the state's cherries. In addition,
Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...
hosts the
National Cherry Festival The National Cherry Festival is a food festival in Traverse City, Michigan. It began in 1925 as the Blessing of the Blossoms Festival, which was held in early May to attract tourists to Northern Michigan to view the blooming cherry blossoms. In 1 ...
each July.


See also

* Cherry production in the United States * Agriculture in Washington state *
Michigan wine Michigan wine refers to any wine that is made in the state of Michigan in the United States. As of 2020, there were under wine-grape cultivation and over 200 commercial wineries in Michigan, producing of wine. According to another count there ...


References

Agriculture in Michigan Cuisine of Michigan Northern Michigan Sour cherries West Michigan {{Michigan-stub