Michigan's wine grape vines, cherry trees and other fruit plants sustained damage during the harsh winter, but farmers are holding out hope that the spring will go easy on their crops.

Heavy snowfall, low temperatures and hungry animals wreaked havoc on some blueberry bushes, grape vines and cherry, peach and plum trees this winter. The rough conditions also broke branches on some apple trees, though the apple crop weathered the season better than more tender fruits, according to Ken Nye, horticulture and forestry specialist for Michigan Farm Bureau.

"There still may be enough buds there to make a decent crop, what you don't know is how much were going to lose this spring either with spring frost or poor pollination," Nye said. "We'll just have to see how we get through the next month or so."

Some areas may see severe damage while others may be just fine, according to the MFB. For example, blueberry farms located near US-31 and M-45 may see more damage from road salt runoff, which causes blueberry plants to dry up.

Michigan's wine grapes also saw mixed results.

"More delicate varieties like Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc may see bud losses of 50 percent or worse," according to a release from the MFB. "Hardier varieties like Riesling and Chardonnay — the region's workhorse grapes — are more likely to shake off losses of 25 percent of less."

The cool spring has so far helped the fruit crop by avoiding a situation like 2012, when early warm temperatures followed by late frosts obliterated much of the cherry and apple crops.

But the low temperatures mean sugar beet farmers have to wait longer than usual to start planting. They're usually the first to hit the fields each year.

Farmers hope for more sun and wind to firm up their cold, soggy sugar beet fields in order to start planting in the next couple of weeks.

"Most farmers, especially in Michigan, are equipped to plant their spring crops in about a 10-15 day window," Bob Boehm, MFB's manager of the center for commodity, farm and industry relations, said in a statement. "The longer this pattern lingers on into April, the more concern will begin to rise."

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