Michigan is known as the “Cherry Capital of the World,” but severe weather events continue to threaten the viability of the industry. This year, the state’s sweet cherry farmers lost upwards to 75 percent of their crops after a mild winter and warm, wet early-season conditions led to significant insect and disease damage.

In August, Governor Gretchen Whitmer requested a Declaration of Disaster from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make available much-needed emergency resources for northern Michigan’s cherry producers. On October 14, the USDA issued disaster declarations for Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties. In addition to the three primary counties, USDA designated eight contiguous counties under the disaster declarations which are Benzie, Crawford, Manistee, Otsego, Charlevoix, Kalkaska, Missaukee, and Wexford.

“I was proud to stand with Governor Whitmer as we urged the USDA to recognize the impact of these disasters on Michigan’s sweet cherry harvest, and glad to see our farmers receive access to critical federal assistance,” said Boring. “Receiving a USDA disaster declaration is key to ensuring producers can access the resources they need. I appreciate USDA Secretary Vilsack for his commitment to Michigan’s sweet cherry farming families.”

“From farmers to producers to retailers, so many in our community rely on the success of crops like cherries,” said State Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City). “I am glad to see the USDA make this decision to bring some relief for the devastating sweet cherry crop loss and I will continue to seek ways to do more to support our farmers weathering this latest challenge to their livelihoods.”

The counties designated by USDA as natural disaster or contiguous disaster areas means qualified farm operators are eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Services Agency (USDA-FSA) provided eligibility requirements are met.

Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. USDA-FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. USDA-FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

For Michigan to receive federal disaster status, the original crop loss estimates must be verified from harvest yield data.  Suppose losses of 30 percent or more are confirmed, and the disaster request is granted. In that case, eligible state producers will have access to USDA-FSA’s low-interest emergency loan program for up to 100 percent of their weather-related agriculture production losses. USDA-FSA is the agency responsible for compiling the official crop loss statistics and administering the federal emergency farm loan programs.

For more information on the federal emergency farm loan programs, please visit the USDA-FSA website.