MSU surveying Michigan apple growers on orchard “shock events”

Michigan State University (MSU) is surveying state apple growers to identify and quantify the frequency and impacts of shock events on the state’s apple production.

The results of MSU’s Apple Grower Survey will help develop decision-making tools that can help growers manage risks and guide adaptation and mitigation strategies. The poll will also aid advocacy groups as they support producers in the agriculture industry in apples, according to a news release.

To better understand how the shock events affect growers and to find possible mitigation options, the USDA research project plans to use a questionnaire to identify and quantify the frequency and impacts of shock events on Michigan apple production, assess how producers were affected by individual and multiple shocks and explore management and adaptation strategies.

The researchers plan a dashboard where farmers can learn about the challenges being faced by other apple growers within their county and across the state. Through this collaborative effort, MSU hopes to learn about and catalog the major events that have caused challenges for apple growers. Additionally, researchers hope to use the responses to help industry groups to support advocacy for the Michigan apple industry.

According to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS), Michigan produced 1.2 billion pounds of apples in 2024, making it the third largest apple-producing U.S. state and apples Michigan’s most valuable fruit crop.

“Despite this astounding success, Michigan farmers are always working to overcome challenges that threaten their production systems,” according to a press release. “In 2012, a late April frost hit apple orchards right after they came into bloom. According to MSU apple harvest reports, this unseasonal frost caused apple harvests to be 88.4% lower than normal levels with one orchard reporting to NPR that they “could only harvest 1 percent of their 30 acres of apples.”

Even though the 2012 frost is the most severe Michigan crop loss on record, there are still shock events that impact apple production from one year to the next. For instance, based on USDA NASS data, since 2007, there have been four years where growers production was one-third of normal levels.

The shocks can include weather events, pest outbreaks or economic events and cause serious challenges for apple growers every year. Over the past several decades, apple growers have experienced unseasonally high temperatures at harvest time. Apple scab outbreaks, COVID-19, and many more shock events have forced growers to alter their operations to maintain their production, according to the release. “Michigan apple growers have become used to these yearly challenges and have learned how to cope with them. However, when multiple shock events occur in the same growing season or in back-to-back growing seasons they become harder to overcome. Despite the significant challenges posed by shock events, there is no comprehensive database of shock location, frequency, or changes over time. We also do not know how often farmers face multiple shock events in a single or back-to-back growing season and how this impacts their operation,” according to the release. Growers who are interested in participating in the project can take the MSU Apple Grower Survey, which is anonymous and will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete.