FENNVILLE, Mich. — The cold temperatures this spring made for a worrisome welcoming of apple season.
Experts warned that the frosty conditions would likely reduce the size of Michigan's apple harvest.
But for a farm in West Michigan, they planned ahead and spent countless hours fighting the frost and now are ready for a sweet U-pick apple season.
"When you're running a farm, you never need to go out and gamble, because you're taking a gamble every year," said Trevor Crane, of Crane Orchards in Fennville.
According to the Associated Press, the Michigan Apple Committee said the state is expected to produce 18.25 million bushels of apples this year, down from 22 million in 2020 because of the cold spring.
Some growing areas in April had temperatures in the 20-degree range, said Diane Smith, executive director of the committee.
But at Crane Orchards, they said they had to put in a lot of extra hours of work to help fight the frost, but they feel lucky with the outcome.
"We did have a lot of those scares with the frost," said Trevor Crane.
The farm ran wind turbines that helped raise the temperature 2 to 2.5 degrees during those cold nights.
The Crane's said they had to use the machines at least 14 times this past spring, which is more than they've used them in the last 10 years combined.
"We ran our wind machines, and we were very blessed to pass the test," said Taylor Crane, another manager of the farm and Trevor's twin brother.
"You can only control so much," said Trevor Crane, "mother nature is mother nature, so all you can do is prep and when those cold nights come you just have to get ready."
And because of those extra-long nights of hard work, the Crane's said this year's apple crop is as good as ever, and they're on schedule to open their U-Pick farm Labor Day weekend.
"Nature is going to do what nature is going to do," said Trevor Crane, "but we're going to do everything we can in our power to make sure we have a good crop."
You can learn more about Crane Orchards by clicking here.
According to the Associated Press, there are more than 14 million apple trees in commercial production at hundreds of Michigan farms, especially in western Michigan and the northern Lower Peninsula.
The state typically ranks third in the U.S. in apple production.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
