Fruit growers in the northeastern quadrant of the country are witnessing the ongoing clamor for sweet cherries, from consumers wanting them bigger, darker, sweeter, for longer—and, if possible, locally grown. These growers want to play a bigger part in supplying them. Michigan growers produce a fifth of the nation’s sweet cherries, about 35,000 tons a year, but mostly for processing. In that market, they earn 20 to 50 cents a pound, and they can sell cherries that are smaller and less likely to crack. Not surprisingly, they’re interested in the fresh market, where growers often receive more than twice that […]