Strawberries offer Hope for SC Fruit Farmers

A late freeze has claimed part of the Upstate peach crop, but strawberries have dodged the bullet and may provide a much-needed infusion of cash for fruit farmers.  The Clemson University Media Relations Department reports that peach farmers in parts of the Upstate lost much their crop to a mid-April freeze. “We have some small peach growers that are 100% out of it this year because of the weather,” said Clemson Extension Agent Andy Rollins. “Hopefully a strong market for strawberries can help some of them get by. They need that revenue this season.” Rollins said most Upstate strawberry growers were spared the heavy rains that threatened to soak the crop at a critical time. “We’re real thankful the thunderstorms that were supposed to go through missed us, because we had a huge amount of fruit out there,” he said. “Heavy rain on ripe strawberries can ruin the fruit. A lot of us were holding our breath over that.” Rollins said the Upstate strawberry crop is moving into its peak season now and that both quality and yield appear high. Peaches, still weeks away from harvest, have suffered though.