The weighted average cost of producing tart cherries in Michigan on a representative farm in 2009 is $0.36/lb. This cost was averaged across the three main production regions in Michigan and weighted by average per acre production for each region as published by the Michigan Agricultural...

This report examines optimum supply formula (OSF) in the tart cherry industry. The OSF is a tool for stabilizing market prices as authorized by a federal market order (FMO). The current OSF sets the optimum supply volume (OSV), or free sales of tart cherries in a given harvest year equal to the...

This report summarizes the financial and production records of 9 Michigan tree fruit farms. To be included, the farms must have produced at least 50 percent of gross cash farm income from one or a combination of sales from cherries, apples, and other fruits. The records came from Michigan State...

Consumer awareness of food safety issues is reshaping the retail food supply chain. For some retailers, public standards for food safety fail to provide the level of assurance demanded by their customers, so many are turning to private standards. Fresh strawberries have been implicated in food...

Greater flexibility in U.S. farm programs with elimination of the restriction on the planting of fruit and vegetable crops (FAVR crops) is likely to be a major issue in congressional 2007 farm policy discussions. Michigan is a state with a wide range of both FAVR and program crops planted under...

The importance of the effects of non-tariff barriers on international agricultural trade has become widely recognized and discussed as WTO negotiation has promoted the reduction of tariff rates around the world. Administrative barriers include the high cost of obtaining accurate information on...

The Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) is a commodity organization comprised of approximately 1000 apple growers in Michigan. The objective of this study was to evaluate growers' perceptions about the effectiveness of past MAC programs and solicit their opinions about future directions for MAC in...

The wholesale sector is an intermediate stage in the supply chain of fresh produce. In general, business operations in this sector do not transform a specific product, but rather provide services related to the sale of the product. The term 'wholesaler' refers to all merchants that are part of...

This report presents global and domestic information regarding production, trade and market developments for pickled cucumbers. U.S. cucumber production and trade are commonly divided into two categories: fresh and pickling. Michigan is the largest producer of pickling cucumbers in the country,...