A Traverse City farmer has caused a social media frenzy after posting pictures of tart cherries he dumped on the ground to rot. Marc Santucci says he dumped the crops to comply with an industry agreement which he claims props up the price of cherries. Cherry Industry Administrative Board Executive Director Perry Hedin says that’s not the case, adding he had other options besides simply dumping %14 of his crop.
“Had he so chosen, he could have taken that fruit and worked with a processor and made a charitable contribution of those cherries as a finished good,” Hedin said.
That way, he says the cherries could have become jam or pie filling. Hedin says the marketing agreement was voted for by farmers and processors to stabilize prices and has proven to be useful in helping growers develop stable returns.
