Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a disaster declaration for northern Michigan’s sweet cherry industry. The declaration, which applies to three primary counties (Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau) and eight contiguous counties (Benzie, Crawford, Manistee, Otsego, Charlevoix, Kalkaska, Missaukee, and Wexford) will make loan assistance and other resources available to local cherry growers, many of whom lost huge parts of their crops this year to unpredictable weather patterns, mold and disease pressure, pest activity, and more.
In light of the news, the Leelanau Ticker sits down with Tim Boring, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), to find out what the disaster declaration means for local farmers and to discuss the existential threats facing northern Michigan’s cherry industry.
Ticker: How big of a deal is this disaster declaration, given the terrible cherry season we had this year?…