Hail storms during the latter half of May will most likely result in less watermelons from Georgia this year. The season, which got off to an early start, should bring higher prices along with lower volumes.Harvesting of watermelons began yesterday at Border Melons East, a grower-shipper located in Adel, Georgia. That's sooner than what's normally the case.
"We're about two weeks early, and that's because it's been warm," said Mark Paulk of Borders Melons East. He added that, as the season is usually five weeks long, they should continue harvesting into the first half of July.
Though Paulk believes they'll have adequate supplies of quality fruit, he noted that recent hail has affected significant portions of the state's acreage. While damage from the storms is still not completely known, he said it will definitely affect the state's overall production.
"There will be less acreage because of the hail," he said. "I don't know exactly how much was affected, but it will probably be above 1,000 acres." Light supplies, he added, will probably linger until the July 4th holiday, a time when there's a high demand for watermelons. High demand, coupled with less fruit, will result in higher prices. Already, Pault said, they've seen prices around the $0.20 per pound range, which is higher than rates during normal years.
"This season has been a challenge so far," said Greg Hamil, a Georgia grower of watermelons. Although he said they weren't significantly affected by hail storms, the weather has added an extra wrinkle to a season with plenty of standing issues.
"With fuel costs rising, transportation is a concern," he said. "Higher freight costs for us mean higher prices." With prices already climbing because of diminished supplies, higher fuel costs help to continue that upward trend. But he also noted that some problems have been less pronounced because of reduced acreage.
"Labor issues occur every season," he said. Because of an ongoing state-wide crackdown on illegal immigrants, which make up a large portion of the country's agricultural workers, growers have had to contend with a decreased labor pool and the hassles of certifying their legal workforce. But with less fruit to harvest, that problem has become less pronounced this season.
"With acreage down, labor issues won't be as big of a deal."