LAKE COUNTY — Whirring wind machines and revolving sprinklers were farmers” weapons against a brutal frost last weekend. But temperatures dipping to about 25 degrees were too extreme for frost protection techniques to save area crops. Farmers are reporting heavy frost damage ? some say it”s the worst seen in 30 years.
While the Lake County Ag Commissioner is awaiting response to a damage survey sent out to growers, the frost that struck more than a month into spring is known to have had widespread affects on pears, grapes, walnuts and some area nurseries. Neighboring Mendocino County expects damage there will equal about $30 million in lost crops, according to Mendocino Ag Commissioner Dave Bengston.
It wasn”t for lack of running protection that the frost damage occurred, Lake County Farm Bureau Executive Director Chuck March said.
“What we have for frost protection just wasn”t enough for the conditions. There was a high inversion level,” March said, meaning there was no warm top level of air for the wind machines to stir up.
Alex Suchan, a Lake County walnut grower since 1943, said his “walnuts are no more.”
“We”ll have to wait another year to get walnuts. The frost pretty well totaled them out. There might be little re-sprouts, but at very best it will not be economic ? it won”t be enough to hire labor and wear out machinery trying to get that little percentage of the crop,” Suchan said.
He said while his 175 acres of walnuts do not have wind machines, it “wouldn”t do a bit of good” using them in the kind of frost that occurred.
“It was a rather unusual frost. With most frosts the air is colder near the ground and the air higher is warmer, this one it was upside down ? Lake County is a pretty scary place to grow walnuts.”
Lake County Grapevine Nursery in Spring Valley saw temperatures below 24 degrees, Production Manager Benjamin Kaesekamp said.
“We kept everything inside and are waiting for better weather. We”re busting at the seams with green vines that have nowhere to go,” Kaesekamp said.
Beckstoffer Vineyards in the Red Hills appellation got lucky, Vineyard Manager Randy Krag said.
“I think overall the damage was probably less than five percent. The difference with this freeze is that the high elevation vineyards were affected, every part was below freezing. Why we didn”t have more damage I don”t know. Part of the saving grace was we had pruned very late ? frost being the consideration there. I”ve never seen it pay off like it did this time,” Krag said.
Pruning late delays bud break. About 50-60 percent of the buds on higher elevation vines at Beckstoffer had broken already, and lower elevations had a 20-30 percent bud break.
“You can see the frozen shoots right now? honestly until the vines bloom and the fruits set in the middle of June we”re not going to know what the total damage was.”
Krag owns a 25-acre walnut orchard near Upper Lake that was “completely wiped out.” He just received notice Thursday that the selling price for organic walnuts would have been the highest yet. “It”s triple the price we were getting five years ago, so that was a stab in the back that we”re not getting that price this year.”
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
