Record snowfall this winter in Japan's Tohoku region and Niigata Prefecture has led to agricultural damage, including broken fruit tree branches and collapsed vinyl greenhouses. Farm roads remain buried under snow in many areas, delaying damage assessments and raising concerns that losses could exceed typical years.
In Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, where 148 centimeters of snow fell in January, apple growers report widespread branch breakage. "I can only sigh because more branches have been broken than last year," a farmer said in mid-February while digging branches out of the snow in his orchard. Last winter, broken apple tree branches caused more than US$133 million in damage in the prefecture. On his 5-hectare farm, yields fell by nearly 10 tons, a drop of over 10 per cent compared with typical seasons. "I'm afraid this year's yield will be lower than last year's," he said.
In Kita-Akita, Akita Prefecture, where 160 centimeters of snow accumulated in January, around 70 agricultural facilities, including vinyl greenhouses and Hinai Jidori chicken coops, were damaged. A vegetable grower reported that 10 of his greenhouses, nearly half of his total area, were damaged. Spinach and kogomi ostrich fern remain unharvested under snow, and machinery access is limited. He estimates losses at approximately US$267,000. "I've never seen snow like this before, and the surge in material prices makes it difficult to rebuild my greenhouses," he said.
Niigata Prefecture has confirmed damage to around 190 agricultural facilities across nine municipalities as of February 26.
Snow removal efforts have been accelerated in several areas. In Hirosaki, authorities moved farm road snow clearance forward to the end of January. The city allocated an additional US$117,000 to outsource part of the work to a construction company. In Aomori city, snow removal on 84 kilometers of farm roads began in early January. However, progress remains slow due to competing priorities on public roads, limiting the ability to quantify agricultural losses.
"It has been snowing for a long period of time this season, and the damage from the snowfall may be greater than the previous year," said an official of Japan Agricultural Cooperative Aomori.
Experts advise growers to remove snow from trees to reduce structural load on branches and trunks. As snow accumulates and compacts through repeated freezing and thawing cycles, the risk of breakage increases. "I hope snow will be removed from farm roads in the order of priority, while snow-melting agents should be used as quickly as possible," he said.
According to Tomoyoshi Hirota, professor of agricultural meteorology at Kyushu University, "Global warming has caused sea surface temperatures to rise, which creates an environment that allows heavy snowfall to occur easily." He added that reinforcement of greenhouses and compensation measures should be considered.
Source: ANN
