What the CIAB is:
The Cherry Industry Administrative Board (CIAB) is a marketing order created at the request of, by the vote of and at the expense of the tart cherry industry. It was created to assist the industry in dealing with the erratic production cycle of red tart cherries and to improve returns to the growers and processors of red tart cherries in the United States.
The CIAB is authorized under Federal law, and it is considered an "instrumentality" of the United States Department of Agriculture. Therefore, it is the Secretary of Agriculture who oversees the operations of the CIAB and under whose aegis the order operates.
The marketing order applies to all states across the country that produce commercial crops of red tart cherries. This includes the states of Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.What the CIAB does:
The basic concept the CIAB is the matching of the annual supply of tart cherries with the demand for tart cherries.
Production of red tart cherries fluctuates significantly from one year to the next. This is fluctuation of supply results from the erratic yearly weather patterns in the producing states. The erratic production cycle impacts the marketplace and can result in widely fluctuating supplies of tart cherries from one year to the next. In turn, prices at both the grower and the processor level can be adversely affected by the varying supply of cherries.
In order to deal with the erratic production cycle, the CIAB was established to provide greater stability in the supply of tart cherry products in the marketplace. The order authorizes the creation of inventory reserves in the years of overproduction for use in the years where there is a shortfall in the supply of tart cherries. Furthermore, matching the current year's supply with the historical demand for tart cherry products, the order also helps to insure an appropriate volume of cherries moves to the market in those years of overproduction. These tools and mechanisms provide greater stability in the marketplace and less price volatility for tart cherries.Who the CIAB impacts:
The CIAB regulates the processors (aka handlers) of tart cherries. It impacts processors by establishing the portion of each year's production that may freely flow to the marketplace and the portion of each year's production that must be moved into alternative outlets or through alternative options. The order establishes for processors the tools and mechanisms to deal with surpluses or shortfalls of supply.
The CIAB does not directly regulate growers. This is not to say that the order does not influence growers and their interests. It is only to say that growers are impacted derivatively through the processing entities to which the growers deliver their cherries.