Hollister
– Many local farmers are grappling with the effects on their
crops of unfortunate weather phenomena in the winter and summer, in
the form of lower yields and later harvests.
Hollister – Many local farmers are grappling with the effects on their crops of unfortunate weather phenomena in the winter and summer, in the form of lower yields and later harvests.
“Blame it on global warming or whatever you want,” Agriculture Commissioner Paul Matulich said. “But it’s been a tough year for everybody.”
Late summer and early fall – harvest time – is typically one of the busiest times of year for those in the ag business. Many growers, however, will be waiting a week or two to pick their crops this year.
“Our apples are going to be two-and-a-half or three weeks late this year,” said Anthony Botelho, co-owner of B&P Orchards in west county. “It’s definitely a challenging year. We don’t expect a bumper crop, and we’ll probably have some storage and quality issues to deal with.”
Bell peppers, walnuts and grapes are among other crops ag officials say will be late this year. A mild, largely dry winter and a record-breaking heat wave in late July were both more than enough to throw off local growing seasons.
“We’re looking at a harvest that will be seven to 10 days late,” said Jeff Guerra, CFO of Guerra Nut Shelling Company. “You never know if that’s going to be trouble. If the rain comes earlier in the year, that could cause a lot of problems.”
Late harvests can also make it more difficult for growers to find sufficient labor.
“When you have a late harvest, labor can get a bit scarce,” Botelho said. “So that might also be a concern.”
The heat proved more detrimental to some crops than others.
“I’ve seen bell peppers that are completely sunburned on the side where they were facing the sun and fine on the other,” said Farm Bureau President Paul Hain, who primarily grows organic walnuts. “I’ve had people tell me that the sun actually cooked onions that were sitting out to dry.”
Hain estimates that he may have lost as much as 30 percent of his typical walnut yield, but won’t know for sure for several weeks. Statewide, Matulich said, experts anticipate that the walnut yield this year might be cut by as much as 50 percent.
“That just comes right around to your wallet when you go the grocery store,” he said. “And it’s going to cost you twice as much to put walnuts in your cake.”
Still, many growers are quick to point out the fact that it could always be worse – as is the case for many farms located in the Central Valley. For example, Matulich said, 17,000 milk cows died in the heat wave statewide, and roughly 400,000 turkeys died as well. Ultimately, these losses affect not only their owners, but also consumers who will be paying more for milk and poultry this year.
“This is just a part of life that most people in the business expect, in a way, and they can deal with this,” Hain said. “Right now there’s just a lot of work to be done.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
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