Put your peach-eating hat on, South Carolina.
The state’s peach crop is tasty as ever this year, but the goodness will be gone earlier than ever, area growers say. A milder than normal winter has meant the yield is low and the season will end early, they said.
Still, halfway through the 2012 harvest, peach farmers say the official state fruit is showing them new daylight after a dismal market two years ago, when the stalled U.S. economy made buying a bushel of peaches seem like a luxury to some consumers.
“We’re trying to dig ourselves out of the hole from 2010, the worst year we’ve ever had,” said Jimmy Forrest, third-generation owner of Dixie Belle Inc. produce and peaches in Ward, S.C. “We thank the good Lord this year will be heading us in a good direction. We’re very excited.”
Forrest and his sons, Matt and Clark, plant about 2,100 acres total of peaches and other produce in Aiken, Edgefield and Saluda counties. But peach trees require a certain number of chilling hours over the winter to emerge from their state of rest and properly begin budding and growing at the right time.
Different peach varieties have differing chill requirements, and when optimal chill time is not met, it can change the production cycle. Forrest said he began harvesting May 2 this year; normally he starts around May 15. Harvesting will wrap up at the end of July, when normally it goes until mid-August.
“The crop is somewhat short, because of the mild winter,” Forrest said. “The crop is earlier than it’s ever been and we’ll finish earlier than ever. The quality (appearance, taste and shelf life) has been excellent; the size has been average.”