The Cherry Industry Administrative Board administers the marketing order which authorizes implementation of research and promotion programs, quality requirements, and regulation of the flow of product to market.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that tart cherry producers and processors voted to amend their marketing order program in a referendum held Aug. 26 through Sept. 16, 2024.
All amendments met the requirement of being favored by at least two-thirds of the eligible producers voting in the referendum or by producers representing at least two-thirds of the eligible volume voting in the referendum. All amendments also met the requirement of being favored by processors that represent at least 50% of the processed tart cherry volume.
The vote outcome for each amendatory change is:
- Amendment 1 – “District representation on the board is based on each district’s maximum production in the most recent five harvest periods rather than utilizing the current 3-year average production for each district by amending § 930.20”
Favored by 77.5% of voting tart cherry producers, representing 83.6% of the production volume voting in the referendum. Processors representing 54.6% of the processed tart cherry volume favored this amendment.
- Amendment 2 – “Require the term of office to start on June 1 and end on May 31 of the subsequent year instead of the current term of office from July 1 to June 30 by amending § 930.22.”
Favored by 90.1% of voting tart cherry producers, representing 96.8% of the production volume voting in the referendum. Processors representing 66% of the processed tart cherry volume favored this amendment.
- Amendment 3 – “Modify the basis for determining a board member’s sales constituency so sales constituency is determined by the entity that purchased the majority of pounds of the grower’s fruit at the time of nomination and that their sales constituency will remain the same over the term of office for that member by amending § 930.23.”
Favored by 87.5% of voting tart cherry producers, representing 97.2% of the production volume voting in the referendum. Processors representing 65% of the processed tart cherry volume favored this amendment.
- Amendment 4 - “Add language to specify that alternate members may be from the same sales constituency as the member for whom they serve as an alternate by amending § 930.28.”
Favored by 81.3% of voting tart cherry producers, representing 89% of the production volume voting in the referendum. Processors representing 64.9% of the processed tart cherry volume favored this amendment.
- Amendment 5 - “Adjust the timeframe for submitting nominations to USDA from 120 days before the term of office expires to 60 days before the term of office expires by amending § 930.23.”
Favored by 87.7% of voting tart cherry producers, representing 97.9% of the production volume voting in the referendum. Processors representing 64.9% of the processed tart cherry volume favored this amendment.
- Amendment 6 - “Use a 5-year average production instead of a 3-year average production for determining when districts are subject to the marketing order’s volume regulations by amending § 930.52(a).”
Favored by 85.2% of voting tart cherry producers, representing 91.4% of the production volume voting in the referendum. Processors representing 58% of the processed tart cherry volume favored this amendment.
- Amendment 7 - “Remove the word ‘processed’ so that the average annual production is based on all reported production and not just the processed production when a restriction is established by amending § 930.52(d).”
Favored by 86.4% of voting tart cherry producers, representing 90.7% of the production volume voting in the referendum. Processors representing 66.5% of the processed tart cherry volume favored this amendment.
The Cherry Industry Administrative Board administers the marketing order locally and consists of 18 members who represent producers and handlers in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. More information about the Board is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Tart Cherries webpage.
Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help producers and handlers achieve marketing success by using their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. AMS provides oversight to fruit, vegetable, and specialty crops marketing orders to ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
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