Damaged peach blossom
"Peaches are a signature South Carolina crop, and this weather anomaly has devastated peach farmers," said Hugh Weathers, South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture.
South Carolina is the largest peach producing state on the East Coast. The state is second only to California nationally.
Weathers said 85 to 90% of the peach crop was lost last week during the extreme cold weather, and the impact will be felt in lots of areas across the nation.
He said, "The South Carolina peach has a great reputation moving up the East Coast, losing the South Carolina peach this summer will bring some tears to New York City."
Weathers said, "Dollar wise if you take the fact that peaches year in, year out, is about a $90 million value to farms. By the time it moves through the food system, that is nearly $300 million to South Carolina's economy, you can then see that the impact is pretty drastic."
The strawberries fared a little better. Mike Keisler owner of James Sease Farms in Gilbert said they used row covers to protect the strawberries.
Keisler said, "We got an early crop, it is a little earlier than normal due to the warm weather we had in February, so everything looks good right now for a good crop of strawberries."
Now the concern shifts from cold weather to storms and hail, but after four decades of farming, Keisler understands anything can happen.
"We just keep plugging along and doing our best to plan and to protect what we can protect, but the rest of it you just trust it up to the good Lord that things are going to work out," said Keisler.
If you are looking for South Carolina peaches, you can expect to see some in limited quantities in July and August.
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