California Cherry Advisory Board

Currently the California cherry industry is comprised of approximately 600 growers farming state total acreage of 26,000. Grower's size of operation range from 1-acre hobby farms to 500-acre large production growers. There are many small farms in the 10-30 acre size. Current trends are for acreage increases in the state, most of which will occur in the southern San Joaquin Valley with growth in new varieties developed for early production that are more heat tolerant. Successful sales to export markets led by Japan have created the current growth in the industry. While processing outlets in brine cherries do exist; the overwhelming focus of the industry is towards cherries for the fresh market. Brine sales are viewed as a by-product market.