COLORADO, USA — As much as we celebrated the wet spring (and free water!), it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Those storms meant farmers also had to battle a heavy hailstorm year, and some are also fighting pests this season, too.
Now consumers are starting to see the impact of these disruptions on the produce shelves.
“We’ve had areas for our wheat producers where they’ve had to abandon some of their wheat. We've had other areas where it’s been almost record yields,” said Tom Lipetzky, director of the markets division for the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
“With our produce growers we had cooler, wetter weather that’s slowed down their progress in getting those to maturity. And in some cases, too much water that’s allowed some of the products to rot in the fields. And pest issue with our sweet corn producers. They’ve done everything they can to contain and control and, even take different measures as to how they’re picking in the field, to make sure consumers still get the best product.”
But consumers may notice a delay for some produce.
Farmers at Knapps Farm in Rocky Ford said hail wiped out several acres of their first cantaloupe plantings this year, so customers were left waiting for the later-planted produce to grow.
Mark Villano, who grows about 140 acres of various produce for his family’s Palombo Farms Market in Henderson, said he feels “lucky” to have escaped major hail damage so far this year.
“I've only gotten hit with three to four light hailstorms,” he said. “But I know for a fact a lot of people around me have just gotten hammered. Its been a lot, and I feel blessed that I’ve missed the majority of that.”
Villano said he was forced to plant later this year, which shortens the growing season. Trying to fit the seasons between freezes in the spring and fall only leaves a limited amount of time, and even a few days can make a big difference.
“Every single person I’ve talked to, the older farmers, the generation above me, have never seen a year like this. Never. And you just don’t know what to do with it,” he said. “You put in everything late, you’re scared because, is the season going to end soon? And just nobody knows what to do with it.”
So, they do their best and hope customers will be forgiving of this season’s limitations. That includes less-than-perfect looking produce.
“If you look at the melons and there’s a blemish, its still the same great melon inside,” Lipetzky said.
“That’s one of the things we can do to really support our farmers and ranchers right now – go to those markets, go to the roadside stands, and look for local produce at your retailer.”
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