Missouri grape growers have started harvesting this year’s crop, and they’re totaling the damages from the Easter freeze. Agricultural experts are still assessing the damage, but vineyards across the state are reporting extensive losses.
Jim Anderson, Executive Director of the State Agriculture Department’s Wine & Grape Board, says that while there is a good deal of damage, things are not as bad as many people had predicted just a few months ago. Anderson says the worst hit vineyards are those in the southern parts of the state, with the damage less severe in the vineyards in the central and northern regions.
While damage estimates are on a case by case basis, Anderson says average statewide losses in the 50 to 60 percent range could be expected once the harvesting is completed later in the fall.