Connect with us

Michigan

Southeast Michigan fruit farmers take massive hit on cherry crop due to spring temperatures

Published

on

Southeast Michigan fruit farmers take massive hit on cherry crop due to spring temperatures


ROCHESTER, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, over half of a cherry crop loss and one Metro Detroit fruit farm is trying to remain optimistic about the future of the fruit growing in Southeast Michigan

A look at the cherry trees at Schramm’s Orchards in Rochester will tell you that it’s been a rough spring.

“That’s the thing about mother nature is that you just don’t get to decide,” says Sarah Schramm, an orchardist at Schramm’s Orchards.

A 70% loss this season in cherries is due to an up-and-down spring when it comes to the forecast.

Advertisement

“Every day, it threatened to dip below freezing since maybe the second week of March. The cherries can withstand a certain temperature down to about 28,” Schramm told CBS News Detroit.

When you dip lower than that, like what Schramm’s Orchards saw, it can make for a devastating loss of cherries that they say will add up to over $100,000 in losses.

“You don’t find a lot of fruit growers at the casino. This is pretty much how we live our lives. We gamble on the weather which is even way worse odds than roulette or blackjack,” said Nels Velliquette, a fruit grower in northwestern Michigan, where cherry farms are in no shortage.

He says economically, the price of cherries and products from them can fluctuate annually depending on how successfully a crop turns out.

“Everything costs more money these days but I would encourage people to look at the root cause of what those costs are. It’s one thing if you’re paying more for paper towel or toilet paper. It’s another thing if you’re paying more for a specialty crop from somebody who you know, who is putting money right back into your community,” Velliquette said

Advertisement

Schramm said the loss will not impact pricing. The meadery announced Friday that one of its most popular meads, “Statement Reserve,” is releasing from what they said was a bountiful harvest of Schaerbeek cherries last season. The same cherries took a massive hit this season.



Source link

Advertisement

Michigan

College basketball rankings: Michigan holds off Arizona at No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports poll

Published

on

College basketball rankings: Michigan holds off Arizona at No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports poll


play

There is no change at the top in the USA TODAY Sports men’s college basketball coaches poll this week, but the margin for the No. 1 team is much closer.

Michigan is still first, receiving 16 of 31 No.-1 votes while keeping its record clean for another week. But No. 2 Arizona has closed within four poll points of the Wolverines with 14 first-place votes after the Wildcats blew away Alabama to rack up yet another ranked win on the road over the weekend. Duke holds at No. 3 overall, claiming the remaining first-place nod, and Iowa State and Connecticut continue to round out the top five.

Advertisement

TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll

In fact, the first 11 positions in the poll are the same. Purdue, Gonzaga, Houston, Michigan State and Brigham Young comprise the lower half of the top 10, with Louisville retaining the 11th spot.

Vanderbilt climbs two spots to No. 12 as Alabama slides four places to 16th. Nebraska makes the week’s biggest jump, a gain of seven positions to No. 15 after the unbeaten Cornhuskers defeated Illinois on the road.

No new teams enter the Top 25, as Iowa hangs on to the final spot after a loss to Iowa State.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Michigan

Bodies of missing snowmobilers recovered from icy Michigan lake

Published

on

Bodies of missing snowmobilers recovered from icy Michigan lake


MASON COUNTY, MI – The bodies of two missing snowmobilers were found Sunday morning.

Two Grand Haven men were recovered by first responders in six feet of water on Dec. 14 in Round Lake off Sugar Grove Road in Mason County’s Sheridan Township.

The riders, aged 65 and 49, were reported missing at 12:30 a.m. after their family had not heard from them for several hours, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.

At first, through family of the missing, police believed the two may have been snowmobiling on trails in Lake County. 

Advertisement

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office started searching trails in attempts to locate them.

Around 4:30 a.m., the search expanded to include eastern Mason County.

A searcher located snowmobile tracks leading onto Round Lake off Sugar Grove Road. A further search showed no tracks leaving the lake.

Due to darkness and heavy snowfall, a check of the lake from shore could not be performed.

At first light, police saw what appeared to be a snowmobile helmet several hundred yards offshore on the ice.

Advertisement

Mason County Sheriff’s Office launched a drone when weather permitted and spotted a hole in the ice.

There was a helmet at the hole.

Rescuers attempted to get to the area, but kept falling through the ice, making rescue efforts impossible, the press release stated.

The Michigan State Police Dive Services Team and Mason County dive team were called to assist and made their way onto the ice.

An airboat from the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office responded to support recovery efforts.

Advertisement

While the team worked to get to the hole in the ice, an MSP diver fell through the ice, but was properly tethered to another diver and was pulled from the ice unharmed.

Law enforcement recovered the bodies in approximately six feet of water. Two snowmobiles were also found submerged under the ice.

The Ludington Police Department, United States Coast Guard-Manistee, Michigan DNR-Law Enforcement, Branch Township Fire Department, Carr Fire Department, Fountain Area Rescue, Free Soil Fire Department, Hamlin Fire Department, Irons Fire Department, Luther Fire Department, Pleasant Plains Fire Department, Manistee Fire Department and Norman Township Fire Department all assisted at the scene.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Michigan

Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing

Published

on

Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing


One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week. 

“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters. 

“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”

Urban Meyer reacted to the fallout of Sherrone Moore’s shock firing from Michigan. Getty Images
The former Michigan football coach was fired for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a. staffer. AP

That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Advertisement

The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.

Sherrone Moore was charged on Friday with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors. AP

On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.


Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore


Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.

“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending