Public Media from Michigan State University

USDA Buying More Cherries From Michigan Farmers

The Ohio State University Buckeyes play the University of Michigan Wolverines Saturday at noon at The Big House.
Alex Mertz

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will buy $15 million dollars of tart cherries from domestic farmers.

They will be used in federal food assistance programs like school lunches.

According to the Cherry Marketing Institute, Michigan farmers account for 75 percent of the country’s tart cherries.

They’ve recently faced declining sales due to cheaper imports from the country of Turkey.

Turkish tart cherry products sell for half the price of domestic ones in some cases.

The deal  is meant to give short-term relief to the U.S. cherry market which has faced stiff foreign competition.

Last month, legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate that could levy tariffs on Turkish cherries.

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