Business & Tech

Wild Weather Has Farmers Sweating at Royal Oak Farmers Market

Frigid April temperatures ruined apple crops and now a drought is leaving farmers perplexed. "It's ridiculous," said Danny Lutz at the Royal Oak Farmers Market Saturday.

Many Michiganders have enjoyed this year's wild weather, which brought unseasonably warm temperatures this winter and spring, but it's also had a dark side: An unusual April freeze has devastated fruit crops in the state and now a drought is leaving farmers confounded.

"Frigid April temperatures ruined apple crops," said Don Mattson of Busy Bee Orchard. Mattson is one of many vendors at the 

"In March we had a two week warm spell. Usually that time of year the ground is frozen a half-foot with a foot of snow on top of it," Mattson said. "Because it was unseasonably warm the sap started rising, the buds filled with juice and then the cold freeze came. On April 29 it got down to 29 degrees. The buds were damaged and we were wiped out."

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Mattson said he lost 80 percent of his apple crop, which means he cannot sell to cider mills or other fruit stands this year.

"I barely have enough for myself," Mattson said. "We still have apples but not in large quantities." The Imlay City farmer said he is not sure if he will have apples to store for the winter.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

To add insult to injury, Mattson has to continue to spray and irrigate or his crop next year will be ruined, too. It gets expensive, he said.

Drought leaves farmers sweating

With the wild spring weather behind us, now a drought has farmers worried.

"I have had only two-tenths of an inch of rain in 45 days," said Danny Lutz, of Maple Creek Farms. "I've taxed my irrigation system beyond belief. I am just barely keeping stuff alive. It's ridiculous."

Lutz said if it doesn't rain this week he will have to give the farmers market a miss next weekend.

The difficulties of the farmers end up being problematic for market goers. Market Master Shelly Mazur said customers are grumbling about prices being high this year.

"I’m trying to get the word out that it is a very tough farm year," Mazur said. "People need to understand that these are hard working local farmers who have been devastated by the weather this year."

"It's supply and demand," said Jim Van Den Berg, of Van Den Berg Farms. "We have higher expenses this year to get a smaller supply. We are trying to keep our price increases at a minimum."

In the meantime Lutz a has a sign that reads:

Please: If you pray, chant, bow to the east, bow to the west, jump up and down, sing, throw salt in the air, then please do it with rain on our minds.

"The way we are making a mess of the planet, it's not going to get much better," Lutz said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here