The declaration provides emergency resources for farmers in 11 northwest Michigan counties.
Prolonged wetness can lead to American brown rot (pictured) in sweet cherries, leaving the fruit unable to be sold. A summer of heavy rains across Michigan is just one of the many factors that have led to USDA declaring a natural disaster for sweet cherry production.
With the loss of up to 75% of northwest Michigan’s sweet cherry crop to crippling insects and disease, USDA issued disaster declarations for primary counties Antrim, Grand Traverse and Leelanau — as well as eight contiguous counties, including Benzie, Crawford, Manistee, Otsego, Charlevoix, Kalkaska, Missaukee and Wexford.
It’s a bit of good news for eligible growers in both primary and contiguous counties, who may qualify for low-interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency.
With hammering rainfall, wind gusts, and hot, wet, humid weather conditions fueling pest and fungi destruction, Michigan’s sweet cherry crop in northwest Lower Michigan sustained losses between 30% and 75%, according to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who asked for the declaration.
“I’ve never experienced a quality problem in sweet cherries like this before,” said Ben LaCross, Michigan Farm Bureau District 9 director, in a statement. “This is the poorest quality sweet cherry crop anyone can ever remember.”
While the disaster declaration is helpful, Nikki Rothwell, Michigan State University Extension specialist and coordinator at Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Center in Leelanau County, says the process will likely take a while.
“Growers have eight months to submit their paperwork and should know this relief will not be immediate,” she says. “We are still exploring other options at the state level.”
FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, considering the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
In Whitmer’s letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, she said, “Since April 1, there has been significant rainfall across sweet cherry-growing counties, including nearly 13 inches of rainfall in northwest Lower Michigan. Higher insect populations because of the mild winter were met with a warm, wet, and very humid spring and early summer, causing an explosion of not only spotted wing drosophila, but rapid development of fungi, including cherry leaf spot and American brown rot.”
For Michigan to receive federal disaster status, the original crop loss estimates must be verified from harvest yield data. If losses of 30% or more are confirmed, and the disaster request is granted, eligible state producers will have access to FSA’s low-interest emergency loan program for up to 100% of their weather-related agriculture production losses.
Article from: https://www.farmprogress.com/crop-disease/sweet-cherry-growers-receive-usda-disaster-declaration
