"Early Tree Flowering Puts Midwest Fruit Harvest in Jeopardy"

"To the delight of flower lovers, fruit trees have exploded with early vibrant blossoms across the Midwest. But to fruit farmers these early blooms inspire more distress than delight. If the flowers are hit by a frost and die, the trees' fruit crops will die with them."

"'We need all the prayers we can get,' said Mick Klug, who supplies peaches, cherries, apples, pears and more to Chicago restaurants and several area farmers markets. With these fragile early blooms, 'it only takes one night in the low 20s to devastate the crop. And we still have to get through the whole month of April and the first two weeks of May.'"

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