Evaluation of Frost Protection as an Adaptation Strategy

Project Summary

GLISA is working with specialty crop commercial growers in the Great Lakes region to understand if and how they invest in frost protection adaptation strategies, namely convective wind machines and water sprinklers. GLISA has surveyed growers and hosted workshops in Michigan to learn about their climate information needs and requirements to ultimately determine potential economic consequences. Next steps of this work include:

  1. Assessing the potential of wind machine technologies to increase the economic viability of fruit production in the Great Lakes region;
  2. Engaging with growers to learn more about the barriers and benefits of wind machine adoption; 
  3. Educating growers on the latest research findings related to frost risk mitigation.
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Project Background

Specialty fruit crop agriculture constitutes an important share of US agricultural production by value and is vulnerable to an array of climate risks (USDA 2020, Sloat et al. 2020). Spring frost events rank among the most economically important weather-related impacts on tree fruit production in the GL region (Kistner et al. 2018). Vulnerability to freeze damage is positively correlated with crop phenological development, which has tended to occur earlier with time in recent decades due to gradually warmer springs (Wolfe et al. 2018) and is projected to become even earlier in the future (Unterberger et al. 2018, Labe et al. 2017). Following a particularly damaging event in 2012, many GL fruit producers invested in frost protection technologies to reduce cold damage risks. However, there is relatively little comprehensive data or information describing the changing environmental risks, the economic effectiveness of the technologies, or estimates of the economic feasibility of the adaptive strategies. In addition, the relative climate-related risks may vary greatly from grower to grower, with relatively greater impacts for growers in underrepresented groups including minorities, women, and small farming operations (Adger et al. 2009). In an effort to develop improved and more effective climate adaptation information, we will examine the information needs of commercial growers in the region for making strategic adaptive decisions. This will include estimates of the operational and economic feasibility of two common frost control strategies (convective wind machines and water sprinklers) for regional commercial fruit production.

Research questions:

  1. What are the risks and economic outcomes of cold damage associated with changing spring freezes to fruit production?
  2. What types of information do growers desire for making adaptive decisions?
  3. Do the information needs vary among growers?
  4. Has frost protection been a cost-effective adaptation among GL fruit farmers?

Project Details

Project Accomplishments
  • Conducted focus group with Michigan apple growers.
  • Developed preliminary simulations demonstrating economic benefits of wind machine adoption for most growers.
  • (Anticipated) Additional project accomplishments are forthcoming.
Research Findings

(Anticipated)

  •  Research findings are forthcoming.
GLISA Contribution

GLISA is leading this project.

GLISA Contact

Jeff Andresen, Co-Director and Co-Principal Investigator, [email protected]