http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/
5995255.htm
Posted on Mon, Jun. 02, 2003
Cold, rainy weather slows spring planting Associated Press
MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Cold, wet weather is giving headaches to many Michigan farmers, who find themselves falling behind in their spring planting.
For more than two years, drought has been the bane of the state's farmers.
'They were looking at drought conditions early on, but that has changed,' Dave Kleweno, a state statistician for the Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service, told The Detroit News for a story Monday. 'Cool temperatures have kept things behind schedule.'
Farmers should have planted 83 percent of their crops by now, according to the statistics service, but Kleweno said that number is steady at 70 percent.
'Everything's getting delayed,' said farmer Joe Kutchey, 43, of Macomb County's Macomb Township north of Detroit. 'There are still fields I can't get in.'
The slow start comes at a crucial time for Michigan's 52,000 farms. Agriculture brings in $37.5 billion a year for Michigan, ranking second only to the automotive industry.
But there has been a steady decline in the number of midsize farms, and the threat of a poor harvest has farmers wondering if the career is worth it.
'It's been tough,' said Rex Hannewald, 47, a farmer in Stockbridge in southeastern Ingham County. 'Prices haven't been real good, and you've lost your enthusiasm to go into spring. Usually, the sights and sounds and smells of spring are enough to get you excited, but things are critical this year.'
Vegetable growers appear to be getting hit the hardest, but not all crops look bleak. Strawberry and apple farmers have overcome minor setbacks and are on schedule.
'We survived the spring frost, and the crops look real good,' said Paul Blake, 44, who owns Blake's Orchard in Armada. 'We had a good blossom on apples, peaches and pears, unlike last year when everything froze off. We also have a good crop of strawberries.'
Money plays a huge role, regardless of the crop.
'You need lots of money to operate, and the lenders are just not out there,' Hannewald said. 'They don't see how we can make it. We have to make it with government help, and that's not right. We're no longer farmers; we're risk managers. We have to manage risks the best we can to survive.'
Recent rain has both helped and hindered Michigan farmers, according to Bob Boehm, manager of the commodities and marketing department of the Michigan Farm Bureau.
It has eased concerns that there would not be enough moisture in the ground to germinate seeds and at the same time has created mud in the fields, making planting difficult.
