Northwest Farmers hoping asparagus will get growing soon

An unusually cold and wet spring has Northwest asparagus growers anxious because the crop isn’t coming up, according to an article in kuow.org. Large asparagus packing houses say they’re down hundreds-of-thousands of pounds so far this spring from normal.

Asparagus season is really short. In June, two things halt harvest: Searing temperatures unfurl the fern heads -- making them low-quality. And at the same time, workers leave asparagus fields in droves for higher-paying jobs in cherry orchards.

Yakima Valley asparagus farmer, Norm Inaba, said he’s worried that he won’t make his numbers by June with this season’s slow growth.

“We’re probably the latest we’ve ever been for asparagus,” he said. “The latest that I can remember. So it will be an interesting year.”

But Inaba said that the quality of the crop has been excellent and when the weather warms up -- he might make up some ground. He also said the slow start has meant grocery stores now have room for Washington asparagus -- because they’ve sold through their foreign produce.

Source: kuow.org