Northwest Cherry Growers has become a five-state entity, with the addition of Montana this season. B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers, said cherry producers in the existing states—Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Idaho—were all in favor of bringing Montana into the fold. “The thought was, it was a win-win-win-win-win by doing this,” he said at the annual four-state cherry meeting in May. Montana is a relatively small cherry-producing state, with an estimated crop of 1,800 tons this season, although production is increasing. The Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Association has about a hundred members. Mark St. Sauveur, a grower at Bigfork, […]