Sep 7, 2012

‘Extraordinary’ fruit crop loss hits farmers, migrant workers where it hurts

Farmers and fruit growers in West Michigan are concerned about the small crop coming up in the fall and the impact these dismal numbers will have when it comes to migrant workers, packagers and an entire industry.

Apple and peach crops were almost lost this year due to extremely warm weather in March and two frosts in April.

Scott Wells, owner of Wells Orchard in Grand Rapids, said he’s expecting less than a 1 percent crop this year.

“We usually grow 30 different kinds of apples, but this year we are going to have an extraordinary crop loss,” he said.

This translates into a dearth of work for migrants who typically pick and package the crops. MLive

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