September 2022 - 28

CHERRY MARKETING INSTITUTE
Plans to regain export markets, new focus on Australia
JULIE GORDON
President/
Managing Director
JGordon@usacherries.com
South Korea at the end of October.
We continue to look for the best
possible return on investment for our
international promotion program.
Australia is one country that we
It has been a busy summer for the
cherry industry! The tart cherry crop
fell short of the industry and USDA
estimates. The Cherry Industry
Administrative Board (CIAB)
estimated 262.3 million pounds and
the total U.S. tart cherry crop came
in a little over 240 million pounds.
Labor and weather played a role in the
shorter crop this year.
Our agencies abroad started a
new fiscal year at the beginning of
July and promotions are underway
in the United Kingdom, China and
South Korea. This will be the last year
that CMI will have an agency in the
United Kingdom to help promote U.S.
tart cherries. CMI will be attending
the Food Export Trade Mission to
have monitored for a few years now
and we see the potential for growth. If
all goes well, we plan to launch a new
promotion program in Australia in
July 2023. With the back-to-back short
crops, exports of U.S. Montmorency
tart cherries have slowed down the last
couple of years. However, we anticipate
that this year's crop will help regain
some of the market share worldwide.
Weber Shandwick (WS) serves as
our ad agency here in the U.S. and they
are gearing up for a new fiscal year
starting in October. Both CMI and
CIAB have representatives that serve
on the task force that oversees WS
and the domestic promotion program.
The task force has been working with
the WS team on a new platform for
next year that will soon be finalized
and shared with our board members
and marketers. WS will also share the
Jim Nugent, who grows cherries with his wife, Toddy Rieger, recently retired after serving
the Michigan cherry for many years. He started with Michigan State University Extension in
1976, retiring in 2007 as coordinator of the NW Michigan Horticultural Research Station.
He recently stepped down as chairman of the Michigan Tree Fruit Commission, which he
helped develop. Photo: The Cherry Marketing Institute
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new platform and this year's program
results with our growers at the CMI
annual meeting in January 2023.
CMI is excited to have Nate Chesher
join our team in September. Nate is a
digital marketing expert and comes to
us from the Michigan Potato Industry
Commission where he focused on
effective video, digital, social media
and retail marketing to help increase
sales and profitability for potato
growers. Nate will serve as the CMI
marketing director and will oversee the
domestic and international marketing
of U.S. tart cherries as well as Michigan
sweet cherries.
Chris Bardenhagen also joined the
Growers rely on the annual Buyers' Guide to
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and products in biologicals, irrigation, plant
nutrition and many more.
View the 2022 Buyers' Guide at FruitGrowersNews.com/BuyersGuide.
CMI team as the cherry industry crop
management specialist. Chris recently
completed a cost-of-production study
for sweet and tart cherries. He has
been working to obtain a Geographical
Indicator for Montmorency tart
cherries. The G.I. is a sign for products
that have a specific geographical origin
and possess qualities or a reputation
that are due to that origin. He is
working on obtaining a Specialty Crop
Block Grant through the Michigan
Department of Agriculture and
Rural Development.
Chris is from Northwest Lower
Michigan, where he grew up working
on his family's farms, raising cherries,
apples and potatoes, among other
things. After graduating from MSU with
a bachelor's degree in Philosophy, he
continued his education and graduated
from Wayne State University Law
School where he studied business law
and taxation. Chris is now serving on
the Minor Crop Farm Alliance and has
28 | FruitGrowersNews.com
been recently appointed to the IR-4
Commodity Liaison Committee.
CMI is very excited to have the
expertise of both Nate and Chris and
looks forward to moving the industry
forward in a positive way with these
great additions to our team!
In closing this month, I would like
to recognize and thank an industry
stakeholder that has dedicated his life
and career to the cherry industry. Jim
Nugent and his wife Toddy Rieger grow
cherries on a farm near Suttons Bay. Jim
joined MSU Extension in 1976 as the
Leelanau County Extension Director.
From 1992 until his retirement in
2007, he was a district horticulturalist
and coordinator of the NW Michigan
Horticultural Research Station.
After his retirement from MSU
Extension, Jim has continued to serve
the cherry industry in many ways,
including playing an intricate role in the
development and serving as chairman
of the Michigan Tree Fruit Commission
(MTFC). After serving three terms
with no paid administrative assistance,
this summer Nancy Nyquist was hired
to serve as the executive director
and Trever Meachum was recently
appointed chairman of the MTFC.
On behalf of the entire cherry
industry, I would like to express
our gratitude and appreciation for
Jim's time and dedication to the
MTFC. Jim's integrity, enthusiasm,
fairness, intelligence, honesty, and
positive attitude is very admired and
appreciated. Thank you, Jim! We
are very fortunate for all that you
have done and continue to do for the
cherry industry. FGN

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September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2022