Some farmers in St. Clair and Sanilac counties lost portions of their winter wheat crop because of the harsh winter.

“Sanilac County and surrounding townships around Sandusky have been hit the hardest,” said Martin Nagelkirk, Michigan State University extension educator, who focuses on wheat.

“Some farms have lost up to 50 percent of their crop here while other farms across Michigan have only lost up to 15 percent.”

Nagelkirk said it is the most significant winter kill in more than a decade.

“What happened is that this past winter there was a significant amount of ice and water beneath the snow, which combined with the sheer cold temperatures, caused much damage to the crops,” he said.

Consumers also are concerned about what damage to the wheat crop means for food prices.

“If the price of one thing goes up, everything will go up,” said Shell Wrubel, owner of Chef Shell’s Restaurant and Catering in Port Huron.

“If the price of wheat goes up, that will impact the price of feed for animals, so the meats we get will also be more expensive.”

Farmer Dave Wronski, of Wales Township, said it’s not time to worry.

“The market has not yet indicated that consumers will be impacted,” Wronski said. “But we will see as the summer progresses.”

Wronski planted 160 acres of wheat last year — 25 of the acres did not survive the winter, while another 40 did not get essential nutrients in time.

“It’s a bigger loss than previous years,” he said. “But financially it will probably affect us very little. We were able to put in another commodity in time — we planted corn in place of the 25 acres that were killed.”

Nagelkirk said if farmers lose around 10 percent of what they planted, they tend to keep the crop. If farmers lose 50 to 90 percent, they tend to tear out the remaining crop to plant something else.

“Once 90 percent is gone, it’s just more financially feasible to start over,” he said. “Many farmers will claim crop insurance to make up for the loss as well.”

John Busemann, a wheat farmer in Columbus Township, was thankful to have crop insurance.

“Crop insurance guarantees 75 percent of my normal yield profits,” he said.

Busemann lost 30 percent of his wheat crop this year.

“During a normal winter, a 10 percent loss is typically normal,” he said. “The 30 percent crop loss also represents a 30 percent financial loss as well.”

Busemann said he was not able to plant any other crops because the spring was too wet.

“This was the first time I have ever experienced this much of a loss,” he said. “I am just going to keep the remaining crop and see what I can get out of it.”

Source - http://www.thetimesherald.com/