LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – The growing season hasn\u2019t officially started, but Idalou Harvest is already counting losses.<\/p>\n
The 55-acre farm grows peaches, grapes, onions, cherries and more. A stretch of rain, cold temperatures and hail has created problems at the worst possible time \u2014 just as crops are preparing to bloom.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate to say this but I\u2019ve gone home many of nights and cried because there\u2019s nothing else I could do but we did everything we could do. This is our livelihood and if we lose it all, we lose it all,\u201d said Lucinda Mann, who helps manage the farm.<\/p>\n
To keep ground temperatures stable, the farm has been setting row fires \u2014 a labor-intensive effort to protect what\u2019s still viable. But the weather has created a second challenge: an unusually early warm-up is pushing peach trees to blossom ahead of schedule, putting those crops at risk of a late freeze.<\/p>\n
Walking the rows, Mann assesses the damage firsthand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see some bad ones this one isn\u2019t any good, it died out. This one could be possibly. These here aren\u2019t quite open yet so there\u2019s a good chance that these made it,\u201d Mann said.<\/p>\n
Some crops didn\u2019t survive. Apricot blossoms took a hit, and the cherry crop is a complete loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cApricots have bloomed but the blossoms are way up high we lose a bunch of blossoms on the apricots. We already know that. We lost multiple things like the cherries are all froze out,\u201d Mann said.<\/p>\n
Peach season typically spans several weeks in June. This year, the farm expects fewer producing trees than in previous seasons. If conditions continue to deteriorate, the consequences could extend beyond the harvest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to think about it or go there. If it gets bad, we\u2019ll have to lay people off. We won\u2019t be able to buy stuff we need,\u201d Mann said.<\/p>\n
Mann says the situation is a reminder of how fragile farming can be \u2014 and why community support matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout farmers you\u2019re not going to eat, and farmers and farm land is getting less and less every year. We need to protect what we have, help support what we have and support local because this where the money is at,\u201d Mann said.<\/p>\n
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