Northern California peach farmers struggling with heat's impact on crop
MARYSVILLE – With more high temperatures on the way, farmers in the Northern California region are struggling with their crops and they're worried for what's to come.
Kulwant Johl, a farmer north of Marysville, grows almonds, walnuts, prunes and peaches. He says all these crops are impacted by the heat. For example, he says once it reaches 100 degrees, peaches stop growing.
"Every farmer is affected with it, not just me," he said.
Johl has been growing peaches and other crops on his farm since 1977. But this year, the heat is hurting his.
"If it was not heat, it would've sized up," he said showing us a small peach.
The unprecedented heat with consecutive days of temperatures reaching more than 100 is proving costly.
"Right now, we don't know how much, but it's a big loss," he said. "It's a higher cost in sorting."
"With the heat being over 100 degrees, the peaches have stopped growing and so what farmers are doing is an extra step to make sure that they are only sending the fruit that can be accepted at the canneries," said Yuba Sutter Farm Bureau Executive Director Stephanie Younger.
"Yes. This is like, this is a small peach. They won't take this," Johl said when asked if the peaches look different this year.
Canneries who buy fruits like peaches have certain criteria that need to be met.
According to the Farm Bureau, farms across the Northern California region are struggling to meet that criteria like usual. For example, an entire load of peaches can be rejected if 5% of a bin of them are too small or overripe. Both of which Johl says the heat is causing.
"Normally when pickers are picking we have a sorter behind them and he will take some out because there's not that many. And this year, because of the heat, the sorters behind the pickers can't take that many out," Johl said.
The extra step of machine sorting is an added cost and with high heat comes high risk for farm workers.
"It also impacts growers when it comes to labor and employee safety and making sure the people that are out here helping harvest the crops are safe," Younger said.
"It means we just have to struggle with this. Smaller peaches," Johl said.
For farmers to receive government help, a request must be put in to declare a disaster due to weather. To do this, 30% of crops must be reported as not feasible in the entire county or region.
That has not happened yet, but Johl says it's something he thinks they could reach. They will be harvesting peaches through the first week of September.