A cold snap after warm weather in January damaged peaches and other fruit in several counties in Southern and Southwest Michigan.
Bill Schultz of Schultz Fruitridge Farms in Mattawan said he lost his peach crop to that frost, and he’s worried more damaging weather is ahead.
“This is going to be a repeat of 2012. And 2012 was a disaster for the state of Michigan. As far as fruit, everybody was affected by it. And we took a severe loss and severe beating on everything we raised.”
Michigan State University Extension fruit expert Bill Shane said the April frosts of 2012 were devastating. He said he's hopeful Michigan won’t get such a late, damaging frost this year. Shane added that even with the damage to peach trees and some wine grapes, he’s confident there will be plenty of local fruit in Southwest Michigan this summer.
Still, he said that weather that whips between warm and cold is worrisome, and growers want it to stop.
“It increases the chances that we’re going to get damage, the more warm temperatures we have now, because we have a long ways to go before we naturally warm up.”
Douglas De Leo owns De Leo Farms in Bangor. He said when things warm up, the plants surge ahead, and then a deep frost can bite them. De Leo said he’s concerned about the recent high temperatures.
“This is moving plants, trees forward at a quicker pass than should be happening still in February. If this was the end of March, we wouldn't be quite so excited,” De Leo said.
“But this is too early, too warm.”
De Leo said many local farmers plant a variety of crops in case they lose some to a frost.