Some really bad news for cider makers….Michigan has lost 90% of their apple crop to unseasonably warmer March weather followed by deep freeze. No word yet from individual cider makes on how this will affect their production. Details from freep.com:
The weather has taken an oversize bite out of Michigan's apple crop, forcing many cider mills and U-pick farms to look outside the state to fill their bins.
we lost 95% of our peaches, 90% of our apples, 85% of our cherries," said Jennifer Holton, communications director for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
A typical Michigan apple crop is about 25 million bushels. This year, Michigan farmers will harvest about 3 million bushels, said Diane Smith, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee.
The culprit is the unseasonably warm March temperatures that brought out fruit tree buds about 4-6 weeks early. That was followed by several below-freezing nights just a few weeks later, which doomed most of those early blossoms.
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