April 20 Meeting: Do Cherries Have a Future in Leelanau County?

Cherries are the signature crop of our country. It is hard to imagine they won't be here forever. But farmers are under pressure from prices, a changing climate, regulations, imports and other forces. They will have to innovate to survive.

Our guest, Philip Hallstedt, is full of ideas to ensure that Leelanau does have cherries in its future. He will give us a briefing and needs our feedback. We look forward to seeing you two weeks from today for a lively discussion. The meeting, as usual, will be at 10 a.m. in the social room of Trinity Church, Northport. Meanwhile, add your comments below!

Suggested readings:

• Some slides with some of Hallstedt's ideas for saving the cherries: 
• A perspective from the Chicago Tribune: Why some cherry growers are quitting
• Leelanau cherry growers' problems echo those of farmers in many other countries.