Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking for federal relief for Michigan growers after "a natural disaster for sweet cherry production."
The request comes on the heels of one of the worst cherry seasons in recent memory, with some growers losing as much as three-quarters of their crop.
State Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) and Michigan’s agriculture and rural development director Tim Boring gathered alongside cherry growers and researchers Thursday afternoon to address the situation.
“I can't think of another year that was like this,” said Emily Miezio, a Leelanau Peninsula cherry grower and industry advocate. “I spoke with another farmer here who's been farming for 60 years, and he doesn't ever remember a year that was quite this bad with the quality of cherries.”
Miezio said growers this year faced a barrage of diseases, pests, fungi and bad weather.
“I went back and calculated the humidity levels here,” said Nikki Rothwell, with the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center. “And I would say from April 1 through mid-June, we only had five days where the humidity was under 55 to 60 percent. That is very uncharacteristic for this region.”
Humidity, coupled with heavy rain and wind, created good conditions for pests and bad conditions for spreading pesticides.
Rothwell said it was a perfect storm, leading to high crop loss late in the season after growers had already paid for things like fertilizer, fuel, labor and harvest.
Those costs are typically paid for with the previous season’s income, but that income won’t be around for next year.
Officials are hoping the federal government can help with that.
Disaster relief would make it easier for growers to access low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and would qualify them for any ad hoc disaster relief or insurance programs targeted at cherries.
In the long term, growers and officials are hoping something else can help: improved research on agriculture and climate change.
“A lot of the need here continues to reinforce the work that we're taking at the department about investments in research around climate resiliency,” said Tim Boring, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development.
Boring said the past two state budgets included initial investments in research on agricultural climate resilience, specifically at Michigan State University.
In the past five years, though, some growers have called it quits, and more of that might be inevitable as the industry — and climate — continue to change.
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