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<< Previous   of   Next >> Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Cool, wet weather has taken a toll on area farmers, including Reid Carleton. Harvesting a sweet corn crop on Sept. 9, Carleton said the corn is several weeks late in maturing.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, September 15, 2008 Mother Nature hits area farmers hard Cold spring weather put a damper on what could have been a profitable harvest By Debra Smith Herald Writer When it comes to pumpkins, farmer Reid Carleton counts himself lucky. It's not a banner year, but plenty of good-size orange globes dot his Everett-area pumpkin patch. Many area growers aren't so fortunate. The coldest, wettest spring in Snohomish County memory has taken a toll on heat-loving area crops, particularly pumpkins and sweet corn. Families will still be able to select a pumpkin at many area farms next month, but pickings will be slimmer and prices will be higher. The worst-hit farms will have to truck in pumpkins from other parts of the state, as will grocery stores that normally purchased extras from area farmers. It's the same story with sweet corn. Here, Carleton isn't as lucky. "This is the worst sweet corn year I've ever had," said Carleton, who has farmed for 40 years. He toured his fields recently on his green John Deere tractor, pointing out rows of four-feet-high corn that should stretch higher this time of year. Some fields are more dirt and weeds than corn. A late spring snow melt flooded his lower fields, drowning some of his early plantings. He normally starts planting in late April, but winter wouldn't loosen its grip. Even plastic tarps designed to warm soil didn't help. His first seeds didn't go in the ground until late May. In total, he estimates he lost half his sweet corn crop. He wasn't able to supply the Evergreen State Fair with the 30,000 ears of sweet corn he normally does. "Sweet corn is like gold around here," said farmer Bob Ricci, the man behind Bob's Corn in Snohomish. He has sold sweet corn for 27 years. He plants corn several times in the spring so he'll have a continuous crop. A spring flood wiped out his second and third plantings. This year is the first he has had to buy corn from elsewhere to sell to customers. He said he called every farmer in the county he knew of and couldn't find any corn to buy. He'll drive to Olympia for corn. Keith Stocker of Stocker Farms in Snohomish estimates sweet corn prices have doubled. Last year, corn cost 20 cents an ear wholesale; this year it's 40. That's without the markup consumers will see at the grocery store. At his farm, prices have increased 20 percent on everything this year. It's not just the weather, he said. There's pressure on commodity crops such as corn because more farmers are earmarking corn fields for ethanol production. Farmers also must contend with higher fuel, fertilizer and labor costs. "I don't know of anything that didn't go up," Stocker said. Sweet corn and pumpkins were hit the hardest, but area farmers also reported lower yields and late starts on many other crops, including cucumbers, squash, strawberries and blueberries. The wet, cool weather also created more disease problems for many types of crops. Ed Husmann, a small apple grower, reported a higher yield than last year, but he said his fruit is producing later than normal and the weather increased the risk of diseases such as scab and powdery mildew. In a typical year, Stocker grows about 8 tons of strawberries and 35 tons of blueberries along with sweet corn, pumpkins and other vegetables. This year his fruit yield has declined about 40 percent. A snow in late April right when his blueberries were setting blooms did him no favors, he said. His vegetables matured three to four weeks later than normal, something that throws customers off. The quality and quantity are good, but customers aren't ready to buy now. "The biggest danger there is you miss the window people are accustomed to buying product," Stocker said. "If they're used to canning cuke pickles in July, they're not going to buy them in August." The saving grace for Stocker's farm and other area farmers is diversification. The most successful area farms grow many crops and offer "agri-tourism" activities for customers, such as pumpkin patches, corn mazes and hay rides. Several local farms including Stockers have country stores that sell products and produce directly to customers. Five local farms have banded together to offer a fall festival in October and the low yields won't affect those activities, Stocker said. His corn maze and others around the county are in good shape, thanks to a later planting date and warm weather in July. Another stretch of warm weather is expected in the next week, and that may salvage some of the season, Stocker said. Maybe. "The corn crop may not pull through from this," he said. "All it takes is one hard night of frost." Carleton said he doesn't want anyone feeling sorry for him or his farm. If it's not one setback in farming, it's another. Farmers are survivors, he said. "We'll make do," he said. "We'll do what we have to do and go again next year." Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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