Tuesday, September 21, 1999
Drought shrinks crops of autumn
But prices might get a little bigger
BY EARNEST WINSTON and PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Frank Antenucci, owner of Big Tree Plantation in Morrow, shows a seedling killed by the drought.
(Steven M. Herppich photo)
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Tristaters used to buying gigantic pumpkins and plump apples from farmers will have to settle for smaller fruits this fall.
Blame this summer's drought and extreme heat for the downsizing.
“The pumpkins will be there, but they may be smaller than the pumpkins they wanted,” said Mike Pullins, executive director of both the Ohio Fruit Growers Society and the Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association in Columbus.
“The consumer who buys pumpkins at a chain store such as Kroger or Wal-Mart — they probably will not be affected (pricewise),” said Daryl Fry man, marketing specialist for Kentucky Department of Agriculture in Frankfort.
“But the consumer that goes to the fall festival, the area farm or the roadside market, they could be (paying more for pumpkins) because that product usually comes straight off the farm.”
Last year, pumpkins nationally sold for 8 cents per pound on the wholesale market. But this year, pumpkins are selling for 12 cents per pound. Mr. Fryman and Mr. Pullins are unsure whether retailers will absorb the increase.
Kathy Burwinkel of Colerain Township, whose family grows about 5 acres of pumpkins a year in Ross Township, said other growers told her pumpkin prices may shoot up.
The average pumpkin — weighing 22 pounds — usually costs 29 cents per pound on the retail market. She said consumers may see pumpkins sell for 39 cents a pound this fall.
Jebb Webeler, owner of the White Oak Garden Center on Blue Rock Road, said one of his growers lost his entire pumpkin crop because of the drought. He plans to ship in pumpkins from other parts of the country, but that can get expensive.
Apples haven't escaped the drought's effect either.
“The apple crop in southern Ohio is down and has been damaged by the heat,” Mr. Pullins said.
Ron Hollmeyer, who operates a family farm in the unincorporated village of Mack in Green Township, said the drought is affecting the size of his apples, but not the prices.
He's selling large apples for $16 a bushel — about the same as last year. To make up for the loss in production, he is shipping in more apples.
The good news for consumers: The dry weather concentrates the apples and makes them sweeter and more flavorful.
Lack of rain is not news to local produce growers. In the past three months, the rains that crops need to thrive have been few and far between.
According to the National Weather Service, between May and mid-September, the amount of rain in Cincinnati was 36 percent below normal.
Three-fourths of Ohio's 88 counties have been designated as disaster areas, clearing the way for drought-relief programs to be funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state's southern counties have been hit hardest.
As fall approaches — Thursday is the first day of fall — the effects of the drought will continue to be felt.
At Morrow's Big Tree Plantation, the drought killed about 70 percent of the seedlings planted this year, said Frank Antenucci, the farm's owner. Older trees weathered the drought, he said, and should be fine for Christmas.
Dale Arnold, executive director of the Ohio Christmas Tree Association in Columbus, said the trees being sold this year are in good shape because they were planted nine to 12 years ago.
“Many Ohioans will not see the impact of this year's drought on the Christmas trees,” said Mr. Arnold, whose organization has more than 350 growers in Ohio.
There has been a slight increase in wholesale prices, Mr. Antenucci said, but there is enough supply to keep the prices in line with past years. It's the growers who will have to bite the bullet, he said.
In Leesburg, Highland County, Ken Davis is working to keep his 1,500-acre farm afloat. The lack of rain has kept crops from growing to their full potential.
At the age of 45, Mr. Davis is a longtime farmer. There will be good times. And there will be bad times, he said.
To make it through the year, he plans on selling a few cows from his herd, storing some corn to use as feed during the winter and putting off major purchases. He has even left a hired-hand position go unfilled to cut costs.
Farmers find ways of adjusting, he said, but the drought's toll will be felt for some time, he said.
“It's the worst I've ever seen it,” Mr. Davis said.
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