from WSOC:
South Carolina's peach farmers may have a hard time this year. It's all because we jumped from winter - straight into summer.
"We went from a five percent bloom to a 100 percent bloom in about a week," York County peach farmer Arthur Black told a reporter. "That's real unusual."
It usually takes about a month, not a week. The hot days made peach blooms bust out all across the state. That could mean peaches from the coast to the upstate will hit store shelves at the same time, causing a glut in the market. Usually peach crops are staggered every few weeks by region.
"I'm afraid it's going to push us all together at one time, and that'd be a lot of fruit to move on the market," Black said.
Fruit that may not all sell could help customers by lowering prices. But Black says there's much more involved once harvesting starts in June. Last year's very small crop didn't force prices up like expected, because the economy was so bad. Farmers knew roadside stands would be empty if they raised prices.
"People don't have a lot of money. They're not paying a lot. We think everybody's got to have a peach. But if it gets out of price, they don't have to have a peach," Black explained.
That's why optimism over the state's $40 million cash crop thanks to sunny, warm weather is always tempered with caution.
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