(Yakima, WA) Grant J. Hunt Company of Oakland, CA announced that Polehn Farms will join Orchard View Farms, The Dalles, OR; Blue Mountain Growers, Milton-Freewater, OR; and Spring Creek Farms; Hood River, OR as Grant J. Hunt’s fourth cherry packing facility in 2006.
The Polehn Farm facility will run two shifts per day during the peak of the season. Dark sweet cherries from The Dalles and Hood River will be the primary product. The facility has the capability to package in bulk boxes, clamshells and poly bags.
According to Grant Hunt, President of the Grant J. Hunt Company, “Polehn Farms is going to give us the extra capacity and additional product to enhance our service level to our accounts. With our volume increasing to approximately 900,000 boxes for the season, we felt Polehn Farms would be the perfect addition to our cherry program.”
The Northwest cherry season will start in early June and Grant J. Hunt will have cherries from the beginning of the season through early August. Temperatures have been cooler as of late, indicating that the season may start around June 10th or later, several days later than recent years.
“We will know a lot more about the season at the end of the month,” states marketing director, Eric Patrick. “We just ask that Mother Nature plays nice with us so we can deliver another strong year as an industry to our retail partners.”