Midwest freeze destroys millions in crops

Apr 11,2007 00:00 by UPI

COLUMBIA, Mo. - An April freeze following unseasonably warm weather in March could cost farmers in the U.S. Midwest millions of dollars.

"Everything is dead," Otto Thierbach told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after inspecting the apple and peach trees, blueberries and blackberries on his 46-acre farm in Warren County, Mo.

Melvin Brees, an economist with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute in Columbia, said fruit trees and plants like raspberries began budding early because of the high temperatures in March. But he said it is too early to tell how much damage has been done.

At worst, most of Missouri's wheat crop, valued at $174 million last year, could be a write-off. Wineries also report grape losses.

In Michigan, experts say the damage appears to be less than thought, except to the tart cherry trees, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported.

Late-blooming plants like tomatoes, peppers, corn and soybeans have not been affected by the frost. Farmers who have lost crops might be able to recoup some of their losses by replanting them.