TRAVERSE CITY — Michigan’s iconic cherry industry is under growing threat from extreme weather fueled by climate change, according to growers, scientists and policymakers who will gather Friday, July 11 in Suttons Bay for the Extreme Weather Emergency Tour.
The press conference, held at Eckerle Farm, is the second stop on the Climate Action Campaign’s four-state tour.
The event will feature testimony from farmers and agricultural experts who will discuss how rising temperatures, erratic winters, torrential rains and fungal outbreaks are putting harvests and rural economies at risk.
“This year’s cherry season brought devastating crop loss and soaring insurance costs,” said Leisa Eckerle Hankins, founder of the Michigan Cherry Grower Alliance and host of the event. “Without bold climate action, we risk losing not only our crops but our agricultural heritage.”
Other speakers include State Rep. Betsy Coffia, Leelanau County Commissioner Gwenne Allgaier, Wunsch Farms CEO Isaiah Wunsch, King Orchards owner Juliette King McAvoy and Nikki Rothwell of the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center.
Organizers will highlight the urgency of protecting family farms through clean energy investment and climate-resilience measures. They will discuss efforts to roll back federal agricultural conservation and climate protection programs and how those actions could worsen conditions for growers.
The tour will continue through Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona, highlighting the mounting toll of extreme weather events across the country and their disproportionate impact on rural and vulnerable communities.