MADISON, Ohio — As the weather continues to fluctuate in Northeast Ohio many farmers are seeing the direct effects on their strawberry crop.
Out at West Orchards, they're not open, but they still have some strawberries to sell.
“Right now we're spot picking, what we have on the table is what's ready at the moment,” said Ame West, the Market Manager at West Orchards.
West Orchards has been a family business since 1890. Usually this time of year, Todd West and Ame West would usually have berries that are bigger and more plentiful. But their harvest is showing the impact of overnight frosts in the spring and more than 2 weeks of no rain.
“We have probably less berries than we've had in previous years. They're taking a little bit longer to ripen up,” said Todd West.
What has saved them is their irrigation system.
“Inside the rows here, we have irrigation pipe and there, sprinklers down low, and then they'll shoot and over this whole area,” he said.
They're not alone; just nine minutes down the road is Rainbow Farm, where Larry and Tina Klco have had their farm for 40 years. On Tuesday, they were selling strawberries by the pint instead of the quart as their farm also feels the effects of those fluctuating temps.
“With strawberries, we had a cold spring. We had a lot of cold nights, and it gets close to 32 where things will freeze up...You can lose the whole crop,” Larry Klco said.
He also irrigates his plants to prevent frost damage, but there was one night in late April when he didn't during an overnight frost, and the damages are clear.
“We have plant death here; that's winter damage. You don't want to see it,” Klco said.
While both farms might have lost some of their crops, they both still have faith for a sweet end to the season.
“Oh yeah, a famer's always got to have hope,” said Todd.
“My wife and I, we love the lord, and we pray every day — seriously, every day,” Klco said.
Along with plenty of delicious strawberries that need picking, both farms say they'll be open for picking in the next week, but call ahead and get there fast before the strawberries are gone.
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