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There could be bad news for Michigan fruit crops; grapevines might have suffered the most

The long, cold winter may have damaged Michigan grapevines.
user: Phil Roeder
/
Flickr
The long, cold winter may have damaged Michigan grapevines.
The long, cold winter may have damaged Michigan grapevines.
Credit user: Phil Roeder / Flickr
/
Flickr
The long, cold winter may have damaged Michigan grapevines.

Listen to today's Environment report above. The story about winter damage to crops starts about a minute and a half in.

Farmers are finally able to head out into their fields, orchards and vineyards to see how everything fared over the winter. 

Ken Nye is a commodities specialist with the Michigan Farm Bureau. 

He's expecting a lot of damage to Michigan fruits. 

"We think we're going to find a fair number of buds that have been frozen over the winter.  A bigger concern would be: Is there actually damage to the tree, the vine, or the bush? That has a long-term impact if we lose those and have to replant them." 

Nye said that wine grapes are probably going to be damaged the most. Other fruit trees that may be in bad shape are peaches, cherries, plums, blueberries.  Apples can take a colder environment and probably are less damaged. 

Copyright 2021 Michigan Radio. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.

Rebecca Williams