It’s officially peach season in SC! Ag Commissioner Hugh Weathers is here to talk to us about the peach crop in the state.
- Great year for peaches in SC
- Especially encouraging after last season which was tough on our peach producers.
- Last year we ended up with a 49 percent peach crop loss based on the USDA report released last month.
- The big loss was because of weather—a hard freeze last March after an unseasonably warm early part of the year.
- This year, all forces have lined up just right for us: sufficient chill hours, a good steady spring as far as weather.
- As of last week, SC peaches were 25 percent harvested, just a little ahead of the 5-year SC average (23 percent)
- What we are hearing is good flavor and good volume so far.
- When you are grocery shopping, be sure to look for the Certified SC Grown logo when buying your peaches.
- We are the number 2 producer in the nation, after California, for peaches.
- I can’t wait for the season to be fully underway and to eat a few more SC grown peaches before the season comes to a close later this summer!