A lingering cold and rainy season had grower-shippers in Michigan waiting a little longer than normal this year to get their summer deals going.
Asparagus
Weather is an issue with asparagus, said John Bakker, executive director for the DeWitt-based Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board.
“It’s really slow, really late,” he said, noting that some hard frosts hit as late as May 11-12, with temperatures in the mid-20s.
That’s not what had been expected, after a mild winter, Bakker said.
“First of April, it looked like we’d be ahead; then, we got slammed into this cold-weather pattern and never got out of it,” he said. “We probably lost half a million to a million pounds in that frost — lost potentially 5% of this crop.”
The rest of the crop was OK, Bakker said.
Harvest had not yet begun in “most fields” by May 18, and harvest didn’t start “in earnest” until after Memorial Day, Bakker said.
Late as they were, the crops looked good, Bakker said.
The 2020 deal might be somewhat shorter than typical, due to the late start, Bakker said.
“I’m guessing that harvest window might be compressed a bit because we started two weeks late,” he said. “We’ll certainly go later — shipping through end of June, early July.”
In a normal year, the deal tends to wrap up by the third week of June, he said.
This year’s asparagus crop likely is later than any other year’s, said Todd DeWaard, sales manager at Hudsonville, Mich.-based Superior Sales.
“It has definitely set asparagus back,” he said of the cold conditions.
For Superior, asparagus started just before Memorial Day, “in a light way,” with volumes picking up quickly, DeWaard said.
“It has been delayed long enough that once it starts, it’s not going to be a slow trickle,” he said.
The crop was late but seemed ideally timed, where the market was concerned, Bakker said.
“A month ago, prices for fresh asparagus were so cheap, we could not even pay the harvest labor to get it out of the field; now, prices are at a record high,” he said. “One retailer was meting it out like toilet paper.”
As of May 22, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 11-pound cartons of bunched green asparagus from Benton Harbor, Mich., were $24-28 for large and standard sizes. A year ago, the same product was $19.95-23.95 for standard size.
Blueberries
Cold weather also had blueberries running a bit behind schedule, said Mario Flores, director of blueberry product management with Naturipe Farms in Grand Junction, Mich.
“The cold weather in spring caused a delay to the start of the season, but the current outlook for Michigan blueberries has the potential for a great crop, based on our original bud count,” he said.
The May freezes were early enough not to cause significant damage during bloom, Flores said.
“We expect this year‘s crop timing to be similar to last year, which was considered one of the latest crop timings in Michigan,” he said. “The later timing will also allow us to better serve our customers from July through the end of September, with pint blueberries available for locally grown promotions the back half of the summer and into the beginning of fall.”
The cold did affect a few spots, said Fred Leitz Jr., one of four owners for Sodus, Mich.-based Leitz Farms LLC.
“In the low spots — I have a couple — they got froze good, but other than that, the rest looks good,” he said.
Vegetables
The cold likely will be less a factor on Michigan’s vegetable crops, grower-shippers say. Indeed, a wave of rain that swept across the state in mid-May helped, said Loren Buurma, partner at Gregory, Mich.-based Buurma Farms.
“They needed it,” Buurma said from Buurma Farms’ Willard, Ohio, operation. “Everything that’s out there looks beautiful.”
Cold had been a worry for a while, but that concern passed, Buurma said.
“Overall, the farm looks beautiful,” he said.
Buurma was to start the season with radishes June 1, with mustard greens, collards, kale and cilantro by June 10 and beets by the end of June, Buurma said.
“Everything looks good,” he said.
Rains also were a blessing for kale, collards and cabbage at Capac, Mich.-based Mike Pirrone Produce, said Matt DeBlouw, president.
“It’s going to be a strong year,” he said.
Pirrone was looking to start in mid-June, with collards and kale, with zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers soon afterward, DeBlouw said, noting that eggplant and peppers would get underway in the last part of July.
“I’m hoping for a little bit better yields, based on last year, which was a little bit wet,” he said.
The cold delayed some plantings of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, but not by much, Leitz said.
“The big question is, will we be able to sell it?” he said, referring to COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Leitz said he was anticipating a start to his cucumber crop about June 25, with blueberries July 1. Grape tomatoes will get underway around mid-July, leading into roma and round tomatoes, he noted.
“We do several plantings of everything in cucumbers and tomatoes and we’ll go until middle of October,” Leitz said.
Cabbage is expected around July 7-10 — or about two weeks later than normal — at Byron Center, Mich.-based E. Miedema & Sons, said Steve Haaksma, sales manager.
The company also grows sweet corn, cabbage, bok choy, napa, celery, cabbage and winter squash, he said.
“We’re way behind what we were last year, and we were actually late last year,” he said, noting that June 20 “is a good average start.”
May started with freezing temperatures, and then heavy rains brought flooding, Haaksma said.
“Typically, we’d have corn in three- or five-leaf stage by then, but this year it was barely breaking through the ground,” he said. “It’s still way behind schedule, but it’s there.”
Typically, corn starts July 20, but it was shaping up for a late start, Haaksma said.
“We can make up a lot of ground if nature cooperates,” he said. “The way it’s going, I’d say we’re going to be a good week to 10 days late.”
Bok choy looked to be on schedule for a normal harvest just after the Fourth of July, Haaksma said.
Squash planting was running a bit late, but that wasn’t a big concern, Haaksma said.
“That’s a long item; we don’t hit that until Labor Day,” he said.
Byron Center-based Van Solkema Produce of Georgia LLC will have cabbage, corn, celery, radishes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, squash, eggplant, chilies and blueberries, said Todd Van Solkema, CEO.
Radishes were first up, about a week after Memorial Day, he said.
“We’re probably about 10 days or two weeks late,” he said.
Van Solkema Produce was looking to have cabbage and leafy greens, as well as romaine and red leaf lettuce by about the third week of June, Van Solkema said.
Celery
Van Solkema said his first celery likely would be about a week late.
“I can see a big gap between paper (covered) and (open-field) celery,” he said.
Van Solkema was forecasting a July 10 start — about a week late — for celery this year.
Squash & cucumbers
Tunnel cucumbers were expected to start around July 10-15, Van Solkema said.
“Of course, Benton Jarbor could be earlier, and some of the tunnel cukes could come off in late June, early July,” he said.
The cool spate of May was expected to break by Memorial Day, Van Solkema said.
“Maybe we’ll catch up a little bit with a little luck,” he said.
Zucchini and yellow squash should start between June 20 and July 1, Van Solkema said.
Peppers
Van Solkema said more seasonal weather could help his pepper crop catch up to a normal pace, which would mean a start in the third week of July.
“There’s time for all that to catch back up,” he said.
Apples
The cold snap may have far-reaching effects on this year’s apple crop in Michigan, Leitz said.
The freeze left some damage, he said.
“It’s not going to be a full crop, at least not in Southwest Michigan,” Leitz said. “It’ll be a decent crop, just not in my area, because it’s been cold.”
Apples typically start in early September, with early varieties, he said.
