By Clint Thompson
Mid-April arrived, and with it came a spring heat wave for the first time this year. The threat of freezing temperatures should be over, meaning peach growers can celebrate.
“We should have plenty of peaches,” said Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Peach and Taylor counties. “Now, our sales force is trying to figure out how to move all of these peaches.”
It is a remarkable turnaround for the peach industries in the Southeast. Last year was marred by March freeze events that wiped out nearly all of the crop in Georgia and South Carolina. Producers avoided a late-season freeze event this year and should enjoy bountiful harvest.
“I don’t think Georgia or South Carolina lost anything from any cold event this year. We should rebound from a 5% crop like last year to a full crop this year,” Cook said.
A full crop load is only half the battle for producers, however. They must also be able to move a crop that is approaching 100%.
“Whenever we have a full crop, there always is (concern) just because of the number of peaches you have, and I guess there’s only so many peaches that people will eat,” Cook said. “I don’t understand that, because I can eat a peach every day or 10 peaches every day. There’s always a struggle when we have a full crop to find places for everything. That’s the normal year that we like to have. We like to have those (years) where we’re trying to figure out where everything’s going to go.”