If variety is your idea of good weather, you’ve been blessed.
But you obviously aren’t a cherry grower if you don’t mind temperatures hitting 70 degrees one day, then dropping into the teens the next.
Yo-yo weather has been one of many problems faced by county growers over the last 14 years or so, which takes us back to 2012 and the last time unseasonably warm temperatures swelled cherry buds so early that virtually all were killed by frost.
“I’ve got 66 (degrees) in my truck right now,” said John Gallagher, fifth-generation cherry grower from Elmwood Township, on Tuesday afternoon. “This is uncharted waters where we are right now. We’ve had (summer-like weather) in March, and we’ve sprayed sweets in April when we thought that was foolish.”
Poor weather, however, usually takes a back seat to low pricing among problems faced by cherry growers in Leelanau County.
“Some growers are saying out loud that they don’t need a tart cherry crop. With returns of eight cents to 18 cents a pound for even a quarter of a crop, you only harvest because of (crop) insurance. Otherwise you wouldn’t harvest because it wouldn’t make any sense,” Gallagher said.
A MSU Extension study released in 2022 determined that growers in northwest Michigan pay about 40 cents per pound to bring a crop of Montmorency tart cherries to market. The impact of imported cherries on the domestic market has been identified as one reason that prices paid growers have been far lower than their production costs.
At this time of year, however, growers turn their attention to the forecast. While inconsistent weather may be the norm when February turns into March, so far the highs have far surpassed lows in terms of temperature abnormality. Through Monday, the average tempera- ture for February was 32.6 degrees, which is 9.5 degrees warmer than normal, according to readings taken at the Maple City volunteer weather station sanctioned by the National Weather Service.
Fruit tree advancement toward flowering is tracked by what are called “degree days,” which are determined by averaging daily high and low temperatures. For cherry trees, degree days accumulate when the average daily temperature advances past 42 degrees.
“So far we’ve had 50 growing degree days,” said Nikki Rothwell, a manager at the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research station and co-author of the tart cherry production study cited earlier. “That’s moving along. I hope we have a crop for sure. But this weekend it’s suppose to be in the 60s again. I hope this isn’t 2012 happening again. We haven’t gotten to 80 degrees yet, but it is concerning.”
Tart cherry trees buds are most vulnerable to being killed by frost in the days leading up to flowering.
More immediate is Rothwell’s concern that damage might result from the backlash of having temperatures hit or near 70 degrees Tuesday afternoon, then fall into the teens for the next two evenings. Trees are mostly dormant, but high winds won’t allow extreme cold to roll off county hillsides planted in orchards.
Greg Williams, a cherry grower from Cedar, said farmers face more than one problem when trying to make a living in Leelanau, which produces more tart and sweet cherries than any other county in the nation. There’s a chance that cooler temps will prevail in March and April, delaying bud development. But declining commodity pricing, higher labor wages paid to foreign workers as mandated by the U.S. Dept. of Labor, evergrowing government paperwork, increased input costs and foreign pests still take a toll on the farming community.
“If it says warm like they are predicting, we aren’t going to make it through April and the first part of May without a heavy frost,” Williams said. “Regardless, cherries aren’t going to be profitable. People aren’t going to spray their trees for nothing. I don’t think we’ll get much for tarts.
“I just don’t see how.”
Added Gallagher, “Farmers are so depressed and confused right now. There’s no shining light, and I don’t know what the landscape of Leelanau County is going to look like.”
