Brutal Winter Impacts Michigan's Most Tender Spring, Summer Crops

DETROIT (WWJ) Michigan's wine grape vines, cherry trees and other fruit plants appear to have sustained damage during this past brutal winter season.

But farmers are used to the problems that Michigan weather presents, and they're hoping that a mild spring will comfort their crops.

"We had a lot of temperatures below zero this year, anytime we get those kinds of cold temperatures we're probably going to see some damage to some of our more tender fruits that we try to grow here in Michigan," Ken Nye with the Michigan Farm Bureau told WWJ's Rob Mason.

"We certainly there's been some damage to the buds," he added.

Nye said wine grapes, cherries and peaches are tender and may be more at risk than other fruit, such as apples and pears.

Two years ago, it was a warm winter followed by frost that killed buds on fruit trees in Michigan. This year it's the brutal winter weather that's giving fruit farmers reason for concern.

Nye said even though the situation is different from 2012, the results could still be similar.

"The winter time impact in 2014 is just simply that it got too cold and the buds actually died in the winter time, so it's different even though the impact may be the same," Nye said.