Growers still estimating damage from late freeze
Growers are still assessing the extent of the damage from recent
frosts March 30 and March 31.
Growers still estimating damage from late freeze
Growers are still assessing the extent of the damage from recent frosts March 30 and March 31.
Temperatures ranged between 19 degrees and 30 degrees in some areas of San Benito County, said Paul Matulich, the agricultural commissioner for San Benito County, in an e-mail.
Mari Rossi and her husband, Jim, own B&R farms in San Benito County. They have 100 acres of apricots.
“It was a hard frost,” Rossi said. “It’s not looking pretty at all.”
Rossi does not yet have an estimate of how much damage was done.
“I just had our wind machine gentlemen come and he said, ‘What happened to the fruit?'” Rossi said. “We’re all pretty devastated due to this is our bread and butter.”
Other local farmers agreed.
The Gibson family grows apricots and walnuts in San Benito County.
“There was some damage,” Shari Gibson said. “Some of our growers were hit really hard.”
It is not possible to guess how much damage crops in San Benito County might have sustained, Matulich said.
Some crops were particularly vulnerable to a late freeze, Matulich said. Due to mild daytime temperatures and unseasonably warm nights, some tree and vine crops were ahead of their usual growing schedule.
Frost-damaged fruit will turn black and drop off, Matulich said.
Not every grower was affected by the freeze.
“I didn’t see any damage at all,” said Paul Hain, a local farmer who grows walnuts.
The greatest losses appear to be in apricots and early variety walnuts, Matulich said.
In 2006, apricot crops brought in $970,000, according to documents from Matulich.
Walnuts were worth more than $2 million in 2006, according to documents from Matulich.
Wine grapes could also have suffered damage, Matulich said. Most grape growers have the capacity to protect their crops from frost damage, Matulich said.
