The cherry harvest at a couple of the southernmost orchards in the Finley Point area on Flathead Lake gets underway today, kicking off what’s expected to be a very good season for local cherry growers.

“The market conditions are good,” said Ken Edgington, secretary of the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Association. “Prices are ahead of last year.”

A late-season freeze affected the blooms on some of the Lambert cherry trees, and that likely will lower the overall harvest to around 1.5 million pounds, Edgington said. An average cherry crop is about 2.5 million pounds.

“We’re down commensurate with Mother Nature,” he said, adding the reduced blooms may have allowed for bigger surviving cherries, especially on the Lapin trees. “They could size up quite nicely.”

Driving the favorable market conditions here is a light cherry crop in Washington. Certain districts in Washington struggled with rain; other areas were hit by a late frost, according to Marilyn Bowman of Bowman Orchards, one of the independent growers.

Washington’s crop is down about 22 percent this year due largely to rain, according to the Yakima Herald Republic.

Flathead cherries compete head-on with Washington, and when there’s less competition that means a higher price and more room in the market for Flathead cherries.

Bowman said her orchards should be ready to begin harvesting by the end of the week. The extremely warm weather hasn’t affected the crop.

“They’re looking real good,” Bowman said.

Bowman Orchards is selling Lamberts for $2 a pound and Rainier cherries for $3.50 per pound this year, with discounts for larger quantities.

About 80 growers belong to the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers cooperative that ships the chilled cherries to Monson Fruit Co. in Selah, Wash., for processing.

Edgington said he expects fruit to be shipped to Monson by Saturday, which means local cherries will be distributed to area retail outlets by early next week. Using a professional marketing company has allowed the association to expand its market and sell to larger retail outlets.

A major marketing promotion with Super 1 Foods is ready to kick off, Edgington said, with cherries available at those grocery stores early next week. The association also is working toward a goal of having cherries as late as Labor Day weekend in stores such as Costco and Walmart. Local cherries are available at many other retail stores, too.

Flathead Lake is the latest geographic site in North America to grow cherries, and that tends to give local growers an advantage.

Flathead’s cherry harvest begins in the Finley Point area and works its way north as cherries ripen around the lake. Harvest should be underway in the Yellow Bay area by the weekend and picking will continue through mid-August, ending in the Bigfork area.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.