Mar 21, 2017

Southern crops impacted by deep freeze

A deep freeze in the Southeast has done considerable damage to crops in Georgia and South Carolina. Georgia’s blueberries and South Carolina’s peaches have been nearly wiped out, according to ABC News. Other crops like apples and strawberries have been seriously damaged.

Here’s more from ABC News:

“Up to 80 percent of south Georgia’s blueberry crop is gone, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said after touring the state late last week.

Between the two states, crop losses from the freeze could approach $1 billion, officials said.

Temperatures dipped into the 20s both Wednesday, March 15, and Thursday morning. While mid-March freezes aren’t unusual in much of the Southeast, many crops were blooming up to three weeks early because of the unusually mild winter.”

Ten to 15 percent of South Carolina’s peaches remained statewide, according to a statement issued by the South Carolina Peach Council.

About 85 percent of the Edgefield County peach crop was wiped out by three straight nights of below-freezing temperatures last week, The Augusta Chronicle reported.