Farmers expect this to be a good year in spite of storms
Posted: Jul 1, 2013 3:27 AM EDT | Updated: Nov 6, 2014 5:40 AM EDT
NILES, Mich. -- This year, the first week of July kicks off the u-pick season for farmers in Michiana.
U-pick season was rough for local farmers last year because of the drought. This year, many say the excess rain has produced a lot of fruit, but it has also produced a few problems.
"This year we are probably going to harvest a couple thousand pounds of cherries or more, last year we didn’t even harvest a pound of cherries!" explained Larry Eckler of Eckler's Produce.
Eckler harvests almost 100 acres of fruits and vegetables.
He is excited about u-pick season. Because of the rain, he will have thousands of pounds of berries for sale. But he says all the rain has been a blessing and curse at the same time.
"Because of the rainfall this year it keeps bringing up new weed seed."
He says he just cannot pull the weeds fast enough. But that is not his only battle, he is also fighting to keep the insects away.
"In rainy weather you have more insects and the insecticide gets washed off by the rain before it has any effect."
But on the bright side, the daily rains have kept him from running his irrigation system, saving him thousands of dollars.
Eckler says when it comes to rain, you can have too much of a good thing, but his produce will not be affected by it this year.