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Virginia farmers brace for poor peach crop
United States
Tuesday 10 July 2007
A string of frosty nights in April set farmers on edge about their peach crops.
Now, the damage is coming to fruition in many parts of Virginia where some farmers anticipate a significantly smaller harvest than usual.
"It's going to be a little light," said Danny Johnson, who runs Johnson Farms near the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County. "Some varieties we won't have at all."
The effects were especially felt in Southwest Virginia, said Elaine Lidholm, communications director of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
A lot of the production in that area is down 30 percent to 40 percent from normal, Lidholm said Friday.
Saunders Brothers Farm Market in Piney River also took a hit. Owner Jim Saunders said the Easter freeze cut his peach production by 75 percent.
"The peaches were in full bloom that week," he said. "That was when they were the most susceptible to a freeze. . . . It hit them really hard."
Johnson estimated he lost 60 percent of potential peaches and half an apple harvest because of the freeze.
But Johnson, 68, said he has seen worse in his farming career.
"I have been killed out all except 10 percent," he said.
Saunders said he felt fortunate to have a quarter of a harvest left. He knows two farmers in South Carolina and Georgia who lost everything to the freeze.
Hailstorms, droughts and blistering heat often lead to a bitter harvest. Recovery from freezes is sometimes possible, but it takes time, Lidholm said.
This year's freeze was spotty, with some areas hit harder than others. Much of that had to do with each orchards' elevation and how far along its bloom was, she said.
Now, the damage is coming to fruition in many parts of Virginia where some farmers anticipate a significantly smaller harvest than usual.
"It's going to be a little light," said Danny Johnson, who runs Johnson Farms near the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County. "Some varieties we won't have at all."
The effects were especially felt in Southwest Virginia, said Elaine Lidholm, communications director of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
A lot of the production in that area is down 30 percent to 40 percent from normal, Lidholm said Friday.
Saunders Brothers Farm Market in Piney River also took a hit. Owner Jim Saunders said the Easter freeze cut his peach production by 75 percent.
"The peaches were in full bloom that week," he said. "That was when they were the most susceptible to a freeze. . . . It hit them really hard."
Johnson estimated he lost 60 percent of potential peaches and half an apple harvest because of the freeze.
But Johnson, 68, said he has seen worse in his farming career.
"I have been killed out all except 10 percent," he said.
Saunders said he felt fortunate to have a quarter of a harvest left. He knows two farmers in South Carolina and Georgia who lost everything to the freeze.
Hailstorms, droughts and blistering heat often lead to a bitter harvest. Recovery from freezes is sometimes possible, but it takes time, Lidholm said.
This year's freeze was spotty, with some areas hit harder than others. Much of that had to do with each orchards' elevation and how far along its bloom was, she said.
