Margie Morphey picks up a few apples at Stover¿s Farm Market and U-Pic in Berrien Springs on Tuesday. Apple orchards in Michigan and Indiana are producing the least amount of fruit in decades. (South Bend Tribune/SANTIAGO FLORES) (September 13, 2012)
Comparing this season’s apple crop to those in previous years is like comparing apples to oranges.
That’s providing, of course, you can find enough apples to make a comparison.
“I can’t remember any year worse than this. The whole state is out (of apples),’’ said Herb Teichman, owner of Eau Claire’s Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm. “It’s kind of like you’re at a race track and you bet on a horse that doesn’t come in. You tear up your ticket.
“In the farm business, you tear up your receipts, talk to your banker and wait for another year.’’
The poor crop — Teichman estimated he lost more than half his normal production — was precipitated by the unusually warm March that sped up bud development and made them susceptible to April’s several nights of sub-freezing temperatures. Now, those apples that somehow survived are ready for harvesting, and growers are seeing the results of the cold spell.
It isn’t pretty, as apple orchards in Michigan and Indiana are producing the least amount of fruit in decades. Teichman said some varieties were wiped out entirely, with his only saving grace his orchards’ higher elevations that at least allowed him to save a portion of his crop. But it’s true also, he said, that the summer drought, while it diminished the size of the fruit, had one benefit.
“The flavor is more concentrated. We had that at peach time, too,’’ he said. “The smaller the fruit, the better the flavor.’’
At Garwood Orchards in LaPorte, co-owner Mike Garwood said he ended up with 20 percent to 25 percent of his crop. Some varieties like Red Delicious and Gala had “decent’’ yields, he said, but Honey Crisp, his most popular apple, were few and far between.
“We lost 97 percent,’’ Garwood said. “We got Honey Crisp elsewhere, but the wholesale price was double what it was last year.’’
Garwood agreed the government is making available low-interest loans to assist growers but pointed out he and others already are burdened by loan payments related to his business.
“You’ve got to be careful how much debt you carry,’’ he said. “This is as tough as it gets.’’
At Stover’s Farm Market and U-Pic in Berrien Springs, apple orchards produced 10 percent to 15 percent of their usual yield, said June Stover, owner of the business with her husband, Kenneth. Still, she didn’t complain, pointing out like Teichman that some growers lost their entire crops.
She said her son, also named Kenneth, is a sixth-generation farmer who will persevere.
“It’s not a question of giving up. We’ll stick with it at all costs,’’ she said.
Nearby is Dave Pagel, owner of Dave Pagel Produce and 20 acres of apple trees. Those trees sustained a 99 percent crop loss, he said, mirroring the situation faced by other growers.
“I usually sell 200,000 bushels of apples, mostly from other growers. This year ... we’re running 15,000 to 20,000 so we’re 90 percent off. Most growers aren’t bringing anything in,’’ he said.
A candidate for the 78th District state House seat in the Nov. 6 general election, Pagel agreed financial assistance is essentially a federal issue. It’s likely then that there’s little he could do in Lansing to help growers who suffer future crop losses, even should he win the seat.
But he intends to look for ways to assist anyway, he said.
“When you have a zero year (no crops), it’s much, much worse,’’ he said. “It’s like having three or four bad years strung together.’’
Growers pointed out the blossoms that survived produced an earlier than usual harvest. Anyone wishing to buy apples or take advantage of U-pick opportunities should do so by early October, they said, before the few apples that showed up disappear.
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