Jun 1, 2017

Nearly 80 percent of Georgia peach crop wiped out

Reports indicate Georgia growers have lost 80 percent of this year’s crop.

According to statements by the state’s Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, the crop was wiped out this year by a combination of an overly warm winter and a hard freeze in early spring.

The loss comes after a similarly devastating blow this year to the blueberry crop. All together the loss in both crops could mean a $300 million hit to the state’s farmers, although nearly 80 percent of that comes from blueberries.

The peach situation is actually worse in neighboring South Carolina, where Black said he’s been told not a single commercial peach packing shed will open this year after more than 85 percent of that state’s crop was lost.

Visit here for more on the report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution