Hollister
– The recent heat wave, which has pushed the mercury past the
100-degree mark throughout San Benito County, is destroying some
crops and could take a toll on farm workers during the busy fruit
and nut harvest season.
Hollister – The recent heat wave, which has pushed the mercury past the 100-degree mark throughout San Benito County, is destroying some crops and could take a toll on farm workers during the busy fruit and nut harvest season.
Walnuts and sensitive fruits such as strawberries and processing tomatoes have sustained the most damage, according to San Benito County Farm Bureau President Paul Hain.
“It’s sunburning them,” said Hain, who grows organic walnuts. “It turns them into little black orbs that have no market value.”
Hain said giving walnut trees extra water usually helps, but not when temperatures rise above 110 degrees.
Locals sweltered through record high temperatures on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday hit 102 degrees and Sunday peaked at a blistering 109 degrees. The previous records were 98 degrees in 1942 for Saturday and 104 degrees in 2005 for Sunday, according to the Western Regional Climate Center. Monday’s high of 95 missed a record by one degree and today’s forecast of 89 is a refreshing drop from 1973’s high of 105 degrees.
“It’s causing severe damage,” Hain said. “We had a good-looking harvest until last week. This will reduce harvest volumes, profits and availability.”
The high temperatures aren’t just damaging walnuts. The recent record-breaking heat has also damaged processing tomatoes, some strawberries and stone fruits such as peaches, plums and nectarines throughout the state, said California Farm Bureau Spokesman Ron Miller.
“When it’s over 103 degrees, there is going to be damage to the crops,” he said. “The full extent of the damage won’t be known for about 10 days or until after harvest.”
The intense heat sunburns some crops, such as walnuts, and causes others to languish on the vine. Miller said farmers across the state have reported that some of their tomato plants stopped maturing. Others reported that the heat had caused some strawberries to get soft, forcing growers to throw them away. California dairies are using hoses and misters to keep cows cool because the four-legged animals don’t sweat efficiently. The heat wave caused a nearly 15 percent decrease in milk production across the state as a result of record-breaking temperatures, Miller said.
Although he couldn’t yet estimate how much damage the recent heat wave has caused, Miller said it could affect the availability of fresh fruits in local markets and grocery stores.
Grapes are expected to weather the heat without much problem, said Dan Payne, marketing and sales manager at Leal Vineyards.
“We’ve been getting by. We’re hoping to ride this out,” he said. “But another three or four weeks of heat like this could really hurt (production).”
Mari Rossi, owner of B&R Farms in Hollister, said she was able to harvest the majority of the farm’s apricots before the weekend heat wave had a chance to sunburn the fruit.
“Now we’re just worried about the workers,” she said. “In 100-degree temperatures, you’re risking injury.”
Rossi said she has been bringing iced watermelons and Gatorade to day laborers in the orchards to prevent dehydration. But several times last week, the heat has been so intense that Rossi said she had to send workers home early.
Other fruits, such as apples, are expected to resist significant heat damage, said Anthony Botelho, co-owner of B&P Orchards in west San Benito County. Botelho, however, also had concerns about employees.
“The apples will be fine as long as we can keep water on them,” he said. “But when it gets this hot, the best thing to do is keep workers out of the field.”
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
br******@fr***********.com
.
