LITTLE ROCK Arkansas wheat and fruit producers remember the spring freeze of 2007 all too well. With a second consecutive morning of frost forecast for Tuesday, growers were at risk for some losses, but not on the scale of a year ago.
Last year, a hard freeze struck in the first week of April. That followed weeks of warm, sunny weather that allowed farmers to get ahead on planting and had fruit crops flowering early.
The National Weather Service forecast that the temperature will be around the freezing mark across the state, particularly in low areas where cold air can settle.
In 2007, peaches, grapes and even blueberries which generally tolerate the cold were wiped out. Losses were in the millions of dollars, and 68 of Arkansas' 75 counties received a federal agricultural disaster designation.
At Cox Berry Farm in Johnson County, Joyce Cox said the farm made it through Monday morning with damage only to strawberries where a sprinkler pump went out.
"We're trying to get the pump fixed," she said Monday afternoon. "It looks like we're going to get down to freezing tonight, too."
The hillside farm allows customers to pick berries and peaches. Cox said there were no preparations to take for crops other than the strawberries.
University of Arkansas Professor John Clark, who specializes in fruit cultivation, said being on a hillside can make a big difference, as colder air will collect in valleys.
"Give me a peach tree blooming at 25 degrees or 29 degrees, you can tell the difference," Clark said.
If peach growers lose some blossoms, they could still have a good crop. Clark noted that peach growers will prune up to 95 percent of blossoms.
"The positive outlook it could make you a little money, not having the thinning cost. But if the temperature is a little lower, you might not have a crop," Clark said.
Carolyn Cline, who with her husband has a you-pick blueberry farm near Harrison, said the freeze Monday morning missed their area. But after last year, she was cautious about Tuesday morning.
"We don't know what tonight will bring," she said.
The Clines lost their entire crop last year.
Jason Kelley, a wheat, corn and grain sorghum expert for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, said the wheat crop is stressed by the tremendous volume of rain the state has gotten over the last month.
"Wheat tends to do a little bit better in dry weather," Kelley said. He estimated that so far, the crop is 10 percent off its 10-year average of 55 bushels per acre.
"We've got a ways to go," he said.
