Upstate farmers brace for crop threatening freeze
A warm winter plus a sudden mid-March freeze might mean fewer peaches will stock the shelves of local produce stands in the coming months.
“If (the temperature) gets down to what they are saying....., it will wipe out our whole peach crop,” said Sam Hall, one of the owners of Bush-N-Vine Farm in York, S.C., which produces peaches, strawberries and other crops. “We hope forecasters are wrong this time around.”
The National Weather Service has predicted that temperatures will drop into the upper 20s during Tuesday night into Wednesday morning in the Upstate of South Carolina and Charlotte areas. Rock Hill is expected to see a low of 25 degrees Tuesday night into Wednesday and 22 degrees Wednesday into Thursday, said Doug Outlaw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
South Carolina is the nation’s No. 2 peach producer, according to the Clemson Cooperative Extension. The state’s peach industry grosses about $50 million annually, according to the South Carolina Peach Council, a network of growers, researchers and produce buyers.
In 2014, the most recent available numbers, North Carolina produced more than 4,000 tons of peaches, valued at $6.2 million, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Farmers in the York County and Ballantyne areas were taking precautions Monday to protect their already-flowering crops from the cold. “It’s some of the coldest air we’ve had in weeks,” Outlaw said. “The peach crop could be devastated.”
Kevin Hall, who operates Hall Family Farm in Ballantyne with his wife, Lara, said he has “never had such a warm winter” in the 10 years he has grown strawberries.
“Now we have all of these blooms at risk with the freeze coming up,” Kevin said. “It’s not the best thing that’s happened to us. Hopefully we won’t lose too many blooms because every bloom becomes a strawberry.”
This winter has been highlighted by the warmest weather for the region in decades. Some crops ripened earlier than usual, making them especially susceptible to the upcoming freeze. Bush-N-Vine Farm workers were picking strawberries in early March, Sam Hall said.
“We’re picking strawberries outside earlier than we ever have,” he said.
Every year, weather poses a challenge, Kevin Hall said, but this year is the worst he has experienced. He said it’s comparable to the “Easter Freeze of 2007,” when temperatures dropped into the low 20s, damaging crops during a peak blooming season.
“This year is particularly extreme with warm weather making plants start up way too early and a cold snap coming in,” Kevin Hall said. “It’s about the worst combination you can have.”
Hall Family Farm is leaving their strawberries covered for the whole week to protect them from the frost. It’s the first time in a decade Kevin can recall doing that.
“We just don’t see these long, deep freezes,” he said.
Pete Wilson with Cotton Hills Farm in Chester said things aren’t looking good for his peach crop. He said the farm also is covering their strawberries and may run water over them to help insulate the blooms.
“Right now, it looks pretty bleak,” Wilson said. “It’s going to be real tough on our peach crop.”
If the cold comes as predicted, Wilson said he would figure out alternatives to his peach sales.
“Most farmers are used to adversity,” he said. “We’ve got time to plan on some other crops, but there’s nothing like the peach. That’s one of the best crops we’ve got.”
Temperatures will warm up some toward the end of the week, Outlaw said. Thursday is expected to see a low of 26 degrees, with temperatures climbing to 39 degrees Friday and Saturday night.
A freeze watch is in effect from late Tuesday through Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
“We pray the Lord will take care of us,” Sam Hall said.
This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Upstate farmers brace for crop threatening freeze."