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Missouri fruit growers take economic hit during ‘devastating’ April freeze

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Missouri State University experts offer resources, advice to those affected

SPRINGFIELD – In recent weeks, Missouri fruit growers have experienced possibly the most damaging freeze in more than 50 years.

Research experts at Missouri State University’s Mountain Grove Campus, which also serves as the state’s fruit experiment station, have received countless phone calls from fruit growers across the state wondering what they can do to rebound from a freeze that will surely lead to some devastating economic repercussions.

“This is by far the worst I’ve seen,” said Patrick Byers, fruit grower adviser at Missouri State University, who has been working in the industry for more than 20 years. “I’ve been telling those who call that they’re going to have to be in ‘cost-containment’ mode and that management strategies are critical.”

Most important, Byers said, is that fruit growers cannot give up because of the setback and neglect their plantings. “They cannot let their plantings lay by,” he said. “Fruit plantings must still be managed, even in the absence of a crop, because what happens this year will affect next year.”

Byers said that there are assistance programs that could help some of the large-scale operations, but many of the smaller operations may struggle because of a lack of insurance and the widespread damage, which has all but eliminated the opportunity for Missouri retailers to rely on product from neighboring states.

“This is not just a Missouri situation,” Byers said. “Surrounding states have also been hard hit. This is particularly damaging for those who want to maintain retail markets.”

Byers, who also writes a weekly Ozarks Fruit Review column, explained that uncharacteristic warm temperatures in March caused fruit blossoms to bloom earlier than usual. This early emergence, followed by extremely cold temperatures in early April, led to a quick, widespread crippling of most fruit crops.

“Peaches were lost. A good part of the apple crop was lost. The blueberry crop was devastated. The blackberry crop was hurt as well,” Byers said. “And with grapes, any crop will be a secondary crop. The only bright spot could be strawberries – and that’s only if people were able to protect them.”

Resources for journalists: The Missouri State Fruit Experiment Station offers numerous online resources for Missouri fruit growers, as well as personal consultation. Information can be found online at http://mtngrv.missouristate.edu/.

A new freeze/frost reference page has recently been added: http://mtngrv.missouristate.edu/springfreeze.htm.

A guide to Missouri State University experts is available at www.news.missouristate.edu.