Dennis Jones crowns Dalles, Oregon grower, Bob Bailey of Orchard View Farms as the 2017 Cherry King on January 20 at the Cherry Institute in Yakima, Washington. Jones was the 2016 Cherry King honoree. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Dennis Jones crowns The Dalles, Oregon grower, Bob Bailey of Orchard View Farms as the 2017 Cherry King on January 20 at the Cherry Institute in Yakima, Washington. Jones was the 2016 Cherry King honoree. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

The 75th annual Cherry Institute is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 12 at the Yakima Convention Center.

The luncheon program will feature special guest speaker Peter Zeihan, a geopolitical strategist and expert on global energy, demographics and security.

Northwest Cherry Growers President B.J. Thurlby will present a review of the 2017 season, while NWCG’s James Michael and Keith Hu discuss the 2017 cherry market.

Other speakers on the tentative agenda include Cherry Institute President Luke Anderson, Mike Willett of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, Hannah Walters of Stemilt Growers, Oregon State University researcher Lynn Long, and Washington State University researchers Bernardita Sallato-Carmona, Michael Bush, Matt Whiting, Rob Blakey, Girish Ganjyal, Timothy Lawrence, Scott Harper, Betsy Beers, Molly Darr and Gary Grove.

Preregistration is encouraged and can be made by contacting The Cherry Institute at 509-853-3504 or cherryinstitute@wastatefruit.com. Preregistrations must be received by Dec. 29. Registration on the day of the event begins at 8 a.m., and lunch tickets are limited. A block of rooms has been set aside for the Cherry Institute at the Howard Johnson Plaza hotel, located across the parking lot from the convention center. For hotel reservations, call 509-452-6511.