Early Spring A Threat, Farmers Fret

ROMEO (WWJ) - The unseasonably warm weather has created a tense situation for Michigan farmers.

Abby Jacobson of the Westview Orchards in Romeo says the growing season has been moved up about a month, and that could spell trouble.

Her peach trees are already in bloom, and that will not be good if we yet see a frost.��"It's crazy! I've never seen that in my whole life," she told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeil.

Jacobson said the frost could damage crops and scare away the bees.

"And we do need the bees to pollinate our flowers as well. So, there is a higher risk that we will have damage this spring," Jacobson said. "But there is a lot of buds out there, so we can lose some of those buds and still have a good crop."

"A little thinning won't hurt us. We can stand to have some damage, but not a lot," she said.

If all goes well Jacobson says we could see strawberries a week early this year.

In Detroit, the high temperature hit 85 degrees last Thursday making it the hottest day ever in March in Michigan. Lansing had a record high of 83, breaking the old record of 81 set in 1938. In Muskegon, Thursday's high of 79 broke a previous record of 68 degrees set in 1979.

MORE: Too Soon Tulips A Worry In Holland, Michigan

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