Farmers anxious at harvest time

Harvest brings about a range of emotion for farmers including pride, gratification, contentment — and when prices for crops are low, anxiousness.

As corn ripens, apples swell and the last few sweet cherries are picked, it’s an anxious time for farmers in Leelanau County and across the nation. Their finished products are not valued at prices needed to sustain a living.

In Leelanau, which grows more cherries than any other county in the nation, low returns for tarts have plagued the industry for years. Sweet cherries, however, have held their own in terms of production and pricing.