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Storm damage hurts strawberry crop
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| H&N photos by Andrew Mariman Farmland south of Macdoel was hit hard by hail and rain during a Friday storm, causing what Lassen Canyon Nursery’s Scott Scholer says is the worst such damage to their strawberry crop in 15 years. |
July 11, 2007
A Friday night thunderstorm that destroyed fields of strawberry seedlings in Butte Valley, Tulelake, Malin and Yonna Valley will likely cripple the strawberry market nationwide.
California, which gets its strawberry plants from Klamath and Siskiyou county farmers, produces 75 percent of the nation’s strawberries.
Anywhere from a third to half of about 3,500 acres in the Klamath Basin used for growing rootstock for strawberries were damaged by a combination of strong winds, relentless hail and pounding rain. The storm, which also damaged potato, alfalfa and hay fields, devastated some areas while leaving others untouched.
“It will have a huge effect,” said Scott Scholer, manager for Lassen Canyon Nursery’s Macdoel operations.
Transplants
Strawberry rootstock grown in the Klamath Basin is transplanted to strawberry fields in central and southern California. The Klamath Basin produces most all the plants for California’s 35,000 acres of strawberries.
At Lassen Canyon, Scholer said about 200 of the company’s 730 acres had serious damage while another couple of hundred acres was “hurt badly.”
On fields that normally produce 300,000 plants an acre “we’re hoping for 100,000.
“There’s no way of knowing,” he said. “We’re losing half our growing season. You just salvage what’s left. I have a couple of fields the storm missed and they’re beautiful.”
Jim Smith, an agricultural biologist with the Siskiyou County Department of Agriculture, estimates about half the 2,300 acres in strawberries in Butte Valley were damaged, some severely. Along with Lassen Canyon, other strawberry growers affected included NorCal Nurseries and Sierra Cascade Nursery, which also has fields in Klamath County’s Yonna Valley that were damaged.
John Wells, ranch manager for Sierra Cascade, was unsure of the impact.
“It’s pretty early to tell. We’re trying to get the mud washed off everything,” he said. “We’re so far into the season. We’re definitely going to have a yield reduction. It could be pretty high. It could make the planting stock availability for California pretty tight.”
Along with Butte and Yonna valleys, Sierra Cascade has strawberry fields in the Merrill-Tulelake area, but those were not badly damaged.
“We got hit on fields in Butte Valley, and all of our fields in Yonna Valley were hit ” and they’re 70 miles apart,” Wells said.
Quarter-size hail also destroyed Sierra Cascade’s alfalfa and seed grain.
“It was all ruined. The hay was just about ready to cut and it’s gone,” Wells said.
Smith said the hail “pretty well beat up” crops while rain-flooded fields and quickly filled irrigation ditches. In addition, the storm also smashed alfalfa, knocked down grain and destroyed potato fields. He said some farmers’ rain gauges measured 3 to 5 inches during the storm.
Brian Charlton, a cropping system research agent for the Klamath County Extension Service, said the Yonna Valley and Malin areas were the hardest hit in Oregon.
“There’s a couple of potato fields that I think are go be close to a total loss,” Charlton said, noting some spuds will likely be lower quality. In addition, the soaked fields and damage could raise concerns for fungal infections.
“There’s a fair amount of alfalfa that was totally defoliated. It looks like the wind came through and stripped the heads off,” he said.
” Lee Juillerat
A Friday night thunderstorm that destroyed fields of strawberry seedlings in Butte Valley, Tulelake, Malin and Yonna Valley will likely cripple the strawberry market nationwide.
California, which gets its strawberry plants from Klamath and Siskiyou county farmers, produces 75 percent of the nation’s strawberries.
Anywhere from a third to half of about 3,500 acres in the Klamath Basin used for growing rootstock for strawberries were damaged by a combination of strong winds, relentless hail and pounding rain. The storm, which also damaged potato, alfalfa and hay fields, devastated some areas while leaving others untouched.
“It will have a huge effect,” said Scott Scholer, manager for Lassen Canyon Nursery’s Macdoel operations.
Transplants
Strawberry rootstock grown in the Klamath Basin is transplanted to strawberry fields in central and southern California. The Klamath Basin produces most all the plants for California’s 35,000 acres of strawberries.
At Lassen Canyon, Scholer said about 200 of the company’s 730 acres had serious damage while another couple of hundred acres was “hurt badly.”
On fields that normally produce 300,000 plants an acre “we’re hoping for 100,000.
“There’s no way of knowing,” he said. “We’re losing half our growing season. You just salvage what’s left. I have a couple of fields the storm missed and they’re beautiful.”
Jim Smith, an agricultural biologist with the Siskiyou County Department of Agriculture, estimates about half the 2,300 acres in strawberries in Butte Valley were damaged, some severely. Along with Lassen Canyon, other strawberry growers affected included NorCal Nurseries and Sierra Cascade Nursery, which also has fields in Klamath County’s Yonna Valley that were damaged.
John Wells, ranch manager for Sierra Cascade, was unsure of the impact.
“It’s pretty early to tell. We’re trying to get the mud washed off everything,” he said. “We’re so far into the season. We’re definitely going to have a yield reduction. It could be pretty high. It could make the planting stock availability for California pretty tight.”
Along with Butte and Yonna valleys, Sierra Cascade has strawberry fields in the Merrill-Tulelake area, but those were not badly damaged.
“We got hit on fields in Butte Valley, and all of our fields in Yonna Valley were hit ” and they’re 70 miles apart,” Wells said.
Quarter-size hail also destroyed Sierra Cascade’s alfalfa and seed grain.
“It was all ruined. The hay was just about ready to cut and it’s gone,” Wells said.
Smith said the hail “pretty well beat up” crops while rain-flooded fields and quickly filled irrigation ditches. In addition, the storm also smashed alfalfa, knocked down grain and destroyed potato fields. He said some farmers’ rain gauges measured 3 to 5 inches during the storm.
Brian Charlton, a cropping system research agent for the Klamath County Extension Service, said the Yonna Valley and Malin areas were the hardest hit in Oregon.
“There’s a couple of potato fields that I think are go be close to a total loss,” Charlton said, noting some spuds will likely be lower quality. In addition, the soaked fields and damage could raise concerns for fungal infections.
“There’s a fair amount of alfalfa that was totally defoliated. It looks like the wind came through and stripped the heads off,” he said.
” Lee Juillerat
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leesa wrote on Jan 23, 2009 12:37 PM:
" these things should never happened in this world. the world should be safe. "
samantha r. wrote on Sep 23, 2008 12:12 PM:
" this article is So true when your a teen girl and your pregnant It seems to feel like your life is over and there is no way you can fix it but that's not true if your young and your going to have a child then stay focused in school your child wants you to succeed in life so he/she can succeed in life my name is Samantha R. I'm 14 years old i live in Klamath falls and i might be pregnant :] If so I'm determined to make sure my child has a better life then i did :] "
Babe wrote on Jan 23, 2008 6:54 PM:
" I think that chiloquin people do need help and not just the teens but i have also seen places that are alot worse i moved from L.A to chiloquin and ive been back there since and trust me chiloquin is nothing. I also think that crime and drugs etc. are noticed more because it is so small compared to other places and there is no form of disaplin at all "
Tony P. wrote on Jan 19, 2008 7:55 PM:
" I remember the night the plane went down.. My mother crying and my dad in tears.. his dad searched for him for years...
"
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Jane D. wrote on Apr 10, 2009 12:00 AM:
I Love You Bobby
May your soul Rest In Peace
-Deems "