VAN WYCK, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – It may have felt like spring for some on this Monday but over the weekend the Tri-County saw temperatures dip into the teens.
The harsh freeze doing a number on area farms as owners get ready for the spring season.
“We are literally unfolding what happened on Saturday night right now”, says Stuart Graham.
For owners of The Ivy Place Farm in Van Wyck, they were hoping to start their strawberry season as early as this week.
“They were just ready to go”, says Graham.
But thanks to the below freezing temperatures, they are now trying to salvage what is left.
“What made it bad was the length of time that it was as cold as it was and where the stage of the plants were, they were early this year. So we would estimate we lost about 40 to 50 percent of the initial blooms for the strawberries”, says Graham.
Farmer Stuart Graham says along with the initial strawberry blooms, they also lost 80 percent of their blueberries, a devastating hit, because this is the second year in a row its happened.
Just to put the loss into perspective, in 2020, Graham says they had 12,000 pounds of blueberries.
Not only has the freeze impacted the Ivy Place Farm but the price of materials has skyrocketed. For example, Fertilizer went from 450.00 dollars a ton to 1,800.00 dollars a ton.
“Pretty much everything has gone up so we are going to have to make changes to the prices that we charge to accommodate that”, says Graham.
Graham adds for their farm, its about the experiences and memories families make when they stop by, and he hopes those memories trump a hard start to the season.
“Usually there is something else that is going to do good. We planted a bunch of potatoes this year and believe it or not people like digging up potatoes” says Graham.
Farmer Stuart Graham also adding their tomatoes, which is another one of their main crops – made it through the cold weather. Just follow them on social media to find out when they will open for the season.
Other farms also seeing an impact from the freeze. Hall Family Farm in Lancaster County posting on Facebook this is the worse strawberry loss in its 15 years of business. They tried to salvage some and prepare as best they could the days leading up to the freeze but it wasn’t enough.
Bush n Vine in York County saying thankfully their peach crop is ok as well as strawberries. Springs Farm in Fort Mill adding their crops did ok in the cold as well and they only have a little loss.
