WORDEN— Montana fruit growers are blaming extreme weather over the past year for a reduced harvest this summer and fall.
Christie Walsh at Township Road Farm in Worden told MTN that a summer drought, combined with temperature swings over the winter and spring, killed much of her fruit crop, including haskap berries and raspberries.
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“This is really heat and drought,” said Walsh, pointing to her haskap bushes. “I think we all thought we'd make it out fine.”
Gov. Greg Gianforte has declared a drought in five counties in northeast Montana. Farmers in Dawson, Richland, Roosevelt, Sheridan, and Wibaux counties are now eligible for emergency loan assistance due to “extreme drought during the growing season.”
According to the National Weather Service, Helena had the warmest winter on record, and Billings had the second-warmest winter on record.
Related: Unseasonable warm winter weather is turning heads in Billings
“When it started warming up, they thought, well now it's spring, and they just started putting growth on,” said Walsh.
She told MTN a spring freeze killed the early growth from the winter.
“The 20-degree overnight temperature just froze the fruit. And what fruit was set just turned black and they were dropping off,” she added, referencing her haskaps.
As for raspberries, Walsh said she usually picks “25 half pints a day” during a usual harvest. This year, she said that daily yield has dwindled to “five or six in our hand.”
“It's just rough,” she said. “Fruit in Montana isn’t a commodity. So, getting insurance on the crop is hard.”
The extreme weather has affected many fruit growers like Walsh across the state, causing many to take a financial loss.
“Some growers in the state... they support their families, they support employees. And they just don't have any fruit this year to sell,” said Walsh.
Even the fruit growers who do produce a yield this year say the outcome is poor.
“Even if some trees are producing fruit, the fruit is not of high quality,” said Mike Garvey with the Northern Rockies Tree School, who has experience growing apples and pears.
“What happened this particular spring was that extreme cold at a very sensitive time in the formation of their buds and leaves," he said.
Garvey agrees with Walsh– the swings in temperature during the winter and spring are to blame.
“The extreme temperature swings in late fall and then late spring that has really affected their condition,” he said.
Many Montana fruit growers are hoping for a better harvest next year.
"If you get on Abundant Montana you can find berry growers across the state and just do whatever you can to support us," said Walsh. "Look for us next year across the state to have berries at the farmers markets and grocery stores."
