Big losses also expected by state’s grape growers

Associated Press

April 12, 2007 02:45 pm

— Kentucky’s revived grape and wine industry was dealt a serious setback by the Commonwealth’s recent freezing temperatures, growers reported to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture on Wednesday. Producers also reported significant losses to the state’s winter wheat crop and the first alfalfa cutting of the season in addition to apples, peaches and other fruits.
A letter from Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer to Governor Ernie Fletcher asking for assistance in seeking disaster relief was hand-delivered to the Governor’s office on Wednesday.
“Losses of this size could be devastating to the livelihood of many growers and the jobs their farms support,” Commissioner Farmer wrote to the Governor.
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture specialists estimated that winter wheat yields could be reduced at least 50 percent. Wheat accounted for $66 million in farmgate receipts to Kentucky growers in 2005. Kentucky’s crops of apples and peaches suffered widespread damage with some orchards reporting total or near-total losses.
Kentucky’s grape and wine industry has grown into a $24 million business that more than doubled wine production from 2003 to 2006. More than 40 wineries operate in the Commonwealth.
UK Viticulture Specialist S. Kaan Kurtural visited vineyards in central and western Kentucky after temperatures dipped into the 20s for three straight nights. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Kurtural said. “It’s hard to stomach. ... It’s devastation across the board, not just here but from Michigan to Atlanta. There’s going to be less wine available, so it [the cost of wine] will go up some, especially the lower-priced bottles.”
Lowell Land, owner of Acres of Land Winery near Richmond, and Clark County farmer Harkey Edwards both predicted that they likely will lose 90 percent of their grapes.
Land said he’s always been “really lucky” since his eight-acre vineyard is on a hill, where air movement has traditionally kept frost damage to a minimum – but not this year. “That third night when it got down around 20 degrees was just more than they [grapes] could stand,” he said. “They turned black and curled up.”
After growing tobacco for a quarter-century, Edwards replaced the crop with a vineyard. “We raised tobacco for 25 or 30 years, and we never had a crop loss,” he said. “Some of our older plants, we think we’ll get some production from. Most of our newer plants and hybrids, we think they’re a complete loss. It’s terrible. We do not need this for our growers. … It’s pretty scary.”
“This has certainly put a damper on us,” Land said, pausing, “but that’s agriculture.”
Kentucky farmers who had losses from recent freezing weather should fill out a notice of loss and file it with their local Farm Service Agency office, officials said.
The form is filed under the Noninsured Disaster Assistance Program, but producers who did not purchase the coverage should still file the form, said Jeffery S. Hall, state executive director of the agency, which comes under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“We are doing everything we can at FSA to help farmers recover from the losses brought by freezing temperatures,” Hall said. “I’m encouraging all producers to contact their local FSA office as soon as possible so they can report their loss.”