The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a referendum among eligible tart cherry growers and processors March 30 through April 20, 2026, to determine their level of support for continuing their federal marketing order.
The order requires USDA to conduct a continuance referendum every six years in March. To be eligible to vote, growers or processors within the production area must have produced or processed tart cherries during the period of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.
USDA would consider termination of the order if less than 50% of the growers and processors voting in the referendum, and less than 50% the tart cherry volume represented in the referendum, vote in favor of continuance. Notice of the referendum was published in the Federal Register on March 16, 2026.
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will mail ballots and voting instructions to all growers and processors of record. Growers will also have the option to vote by electronic ballot. Eligible growers or processors who do not receive a ballot by April 10, 2026, should contact Steven Kauffman at Steven.Kauffman@usda.gov or (863) 307-3286. Requests for a ballot may also be mailed to USDA, AMS, Specialty Crops Program, 1124 1st Street South, Winter Haven, Florida 33880.
More information about the marketing order 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 leveraging 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 and agreements, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.