Ninety percent of Michigan’s apple crop was destroyed in 2012 due to temperature fluctuations in the spring, bringing difficulty to orchards around the state and in the Hillsdale area.
“We’re used to fluctuations in the weather,” Damon Glei, partial owner at Glei’s Orchards and Greenhouses, said. “But this is the most extreme case that we have seen in the last 60 years. Historically, [the crop] hasn’t been like this since 1945.”
Warm temperatures in March led to early blooms on the trees, but many of the blooms were killed later in the spring due to frosts and freezes.
The Michigan Apple Committee reports a predicted crop size of about three million bushels — a significant drop from the average crop size of 20 to 23 million bushels.
Some areas were hit harder than others, due to the different temperature changes. Glei said two nights at 27 degrees Fahrenheit in April killed most of their crop.
Elliot Hill, baker and cashier at Meckley’s Flavor Fruit Farm in Jerome, said the trees in the more exposed orchards were completely wiped out, and only the trees in their back orchards produced fruit. This caused the farm to raise prices by 30 percent in order to cover the loss of damages.
At Glei’s, the prices are also higher, but the majority of the revenue was lost due to a fall in wholesale business. Glei said the company usually sells to 30 or 40 grocery stores, but this year has sold to only six to eight. Sixty to 70 percent of the orchard’s apples are sold wholesale.
Glei said jobs in the area were also lost due to the orchard’s inability to hire people to pick, package, and ship the apples.
Hand-in-hand with apple production comes the availability of cider.
Glei said a bushel of apples produces about three-and-a-half gallons of cider. He said a bushel of junk apples is selling for about 30 cents a pound, causing a 40 pound bushel to cost about $12 to make a few gallons of cider. On top of that expense comes the cost of squeezing and processing the cider.
Last year, Glei’s Orchards made 60,000 gallons of apple cider but to date this year has produced only about 4,000 gallons. Glei’s Orchards charges $7.49 per gallon for cider this year, which is a significant increase over previous years. Glei said the orchard is hardly making money at that price, since about $6 goes into production of the cider.
Meckley’s Flavor Fruit Farm is making the same amount of cider as last year, but they have had to ship a lot of apples in from other orchards in the Traverse City area. These orchards were less affected by the temperature changes.
On Hillsdale’s campus, apple cider is one of the top-selling items at both A.J.’s Cafe and Jitters coffee cart. Manager Lisa Beasley said they have seen the rise in cider prices, but are purchasing the same amount. She said they are also charging the same price as last year and making less of a profit from it.
“Saga is absorbing the difference due to the cider prices,” Beasley said.
A.J.’s purchases cider from Glei’s Orchards, and Beasley said they are working together on the price. Beasley said she has seen about a 25 percent rise in the prices from last year.
Fluctuations in Michigan’s apple crop are normal to some degree, as apple trees are biannual in their production. Glei said every other year experiences a heavier crop of apples, but this year is unique due to the weather.
Barring another drastic temperature change in spring 2013, Glei said the “well-rested” trees will be ready to produce and ought to produce a lot more fruit than the average crop.
“Once trees bloom, they are very sensitive to anything below freezing,” he said. “Everyone loves the spring weather, but this can be the effect.”
Every year, the apple industry in Michigan contributes to about $700 to $900 million to the state’s economy. The financial impact on the state is still hard to measure at this point.
“From the growers to the shippers, retailers, laborers and consumers, the effect of this year’s crop loss will be widespread,” Diane Smith, interim executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, said. “No one can put a full value on the loss at this point.” sodell@hillsdale.edu
