Friday, August 14, 2009

Government Waste is the (Cherry) Pits

Mich. tart cherry growers ordered to dump part of crop
Michigan tart cherry growers say they're preparing to let up to a quarter of this year's bumper crop rot on the ground under a federal marketing order, and some say they'll shift into more profitable wine grape production.

The order will divert 42 percent of the nation's about 300 million-pound tart cherry harvest this year.

Growers in the Grand Traverse Bay area estimate they'll abandon 20 to 25 percent of their crop.

Some producers are unhappy about the dumping, and grower Leonard Ligon made his feelings known by dumping his 72,000 pounds of cherries along a road in Grand Traverse County's Peninsula Township.

New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin are the other major producers.


Just led food go to waste as part of the boondoggle we have with agriculture in this country. Too bad, tart cherries are good eating.

1 comment:

Burt said...

My wife swears 2 tart cherry capsules in the a.m. and same again in the p.m. help her joint pain.