Cherry growers will pay a half-penny per pound levy to support research and promotions aimed at establishing the health benefits of cherries.

As we reported earlier, cherry growers have come under pressure from the Food and Drug Administration to support the ambitious claims being made for the health benefits of cherries. This Freep story describes how the Cherry Administrative Board recently approved a five-year assessment on growers to raise about $1 million per year to promote cherries and to "entice the medical community to take this to the next level of clinical analysis," in the words of Suttons Bay grower Bob Gregory.