LANSING, Mich. – USDA is offering low interest loans to help sweet cherry growers in 11 northern Michigan counties recover from crops decimated by a wet spring.

Ben LaCross, operations manager at his family-owned Leelanau Fruit Company, estimated losing 50 percent, if not, more of his sweet cherry crop this year. In a good year, LaCross said his 250 to 300 acres of trees produce anywhere from 750,000 to 1 million pounds of cherries.

He estimated this year’s yield at about 400,000 pounds from “unprecedented rains” from May to early July in that part of the state where a vast majority of Michigan cherries are grown.

“This year was the most challenging year that we’ve ever had in my life on the farm,” he said.

LaCross is a second-generation farmer at the operation started in 1972 by his parents near Traverse City, known as the “Cherry Capital of the World,” primarily for its production of tart cherries.

Michigan is the nation’s leading producer of tart cherries and fourth in the U.S. for the amount of sweet cherries harvested in the state.

According to USDA, sweet cherry growers in Michigan, on average, lost upward of 75 percent of their crops from damage caused by insects and disease because of a mild winter and wet spring.

LaCross said sweet cherries were impacted most because their skins are thinner than tart cherries and easier to crack when the fruit expands from trees absorbing a lot of water. He said cracks make cherries susceptible to infestation by insects along with rot for exposure because of the higher sugar content in sweet cherries than tart varieties.

LaCross said the rains also made it more difficult to get into his fields to spray the leaves on the trees with fungicide on a regular basis. When applied, the fungicide washed off the trees from heavy rains that seemed to fall every “two to three days.”

“That onslaught of rain didn’t allow us to protect our trees like we would normally want to,” he said.

To a lesser degree, his farm also suffered reduced tart cherry yields along with a higher percentage of lower quality cherries of both types.

Much of the sweet cherries on his farm are processed before going into ice cream but lower quality ones for the same use are rejected.

LaCross said there’s no way to limit financial losses on lower quality sweet cherries which go to waste from not having a secondary market for lesser grades.                                                                           In contrast, he said tart cherries rejected for use in pies are usually accepted for use in juice for about half the price.

The low-interest loans are in response to USDA granting a request from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for a declaration of disaster for an area producing a vast majority of the state’s cherries.

The declarations are for Antrim, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Crawford, Manistee, Otsego, Charlevoix, Kalkaska, Missaukee and Wexford counties.

State Representative Betsy Coffia, (D-Traverse City) applauded USDA’s decision. “From farmers to producers to retailers, so many in our community rely on the success of crops like cherries,” she said.

According to USDA, farmers in the eligible counties have eight months from the date of declaration on Oct. 15 to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. Each loan application will be considered on its own merits and take into account factors such as the extent of the losses and ability to repay the loans.

According to USDA, confirmed losses of 30 percent or more of a crop are required to qualify for loans of up to 100 percent of weather-related production losses.

For more information about the federal emergency farm loan program, visit the USDA’s Farm Service Agency website.

LaCross said he’s not sure yet whether he’ll apply for one of the low-interest loans or rely more on pulling out some of the equity on his farm to help in what could be a long financial road to recovery.

“With interest rates the way they are, any opportunity for low-interest loans we’re going to look at very closely,” he said.

He said farmers in the best position set aside a lot of their profits during good years to draw from in tough times.

Before the year, LaCross said some growers were staying afloat from the higher prices they were able to collect for their sweet cherries than what the market provided for their lower priced tarts.

“To have a devastating year like this in the sweet cherry business is really going to be tough for a lot of farmers to dig out of,” he said.