Governor Gretchen Whitmer is seeking federal disaster aid for sweet cherry growers in nine counties, including Berrien and Van Buren.

Whitmer sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this month saying unpredictable weather this year has damaged production. MSU Extension fruit specialist Bill Shane tells us growers in Southwest Michigan weren’t hit as hard as those in northwest Michigan, but they still lost about 30% of the crop.

“We did have some issues with some diseases,” Shane said. “There was some hail that came through for some of the production areas, but it was mainly that January 15 low temperature event, and the result was that the fruit bugs just didn’t make it.”

Shane says a high insect population also made the cherries vulnerable to disease. He says the spotted wing drosophila, which he describes as the nasty cousin of the fruit fly, was the problem.

“This year, it being an early year, the spotted drosophila population got to be fairly significant and that compounds the problems in that if there is a opening, a slight opening in the fruit, then it makes it easier for various diseases to get in and cause problems. So it’s a kind of a one-two punch.”

If the governor’s disaster request is approved, Shane says growers would be in line for low-interest loans to help them reset for next year.

Shane adds the Southwest Michigan grape and peach crops were more damaged by this year’s weather. He says grapes were just about wiped out in Van Buren County.