Grower: Door County cherry crop has all but failed

FISH CREEK (AP) -- Door County in northeastern Wisconsin ranks among the country's top cherry producers. But this year's crop could be the pits.

Bob Lautenbach of Lautenbach's Orchard in Fish Creek says this is the worst year he's ever experienced, and his family has grown cherries all his life.

He says the 2012 cherry crop in Door County has all but failed. He says the county would normally produce about 8 to 10 million pounds, but this year the prediction is about half a million pounds.

That's because the warm March woke up the trees early, but several nights of frost then killed off the buds.

Door County growers say they'll try to keep their crop in the county this year, for tourists and locals to enjoy. Prices will be higher.