By Brad Haire
University of Georgia
Georgia’s fall vegetable crop looks good. A University of
Georgia expert says it’s just another positive bounce in what
has been a rebound year for the state’s vegetable production.
Last fall, four tropical storms knocked yields to the ground in
south Georgia, where most of the state’s vegetables are grown.
Prices were good, but there wasn’t much to sell. The opposite
had already hammered the year’s spring crop. Yields were high —
too high, sending prices down.
But things have evened out in 2005, said Terry Kelly, a
vegetable specialist with the UGA Cooperative Extension.
“When you look at the big picture, 2005 has been a better year
for vegetables,” Kelley said.
Vegetables are grown in Georgia virtually year-round, he said.
The state’s subtropical weather allows farmers to grow two full
warm-season crops like peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. Carrots,
onions and cole crops like cabbage and kale are grown in the
cooler months.
Georgia’s spring crop this year “was decent,” Kelley said. The
weather was a little cool and wet and put the crop behind in
growth. Yields were down about 25 percent. But prices were good
and made up for the loss in production.
Prolonged warm weather with no killer frost this fall has
allowed some Georgia farmers to continue harvesting the warm-
season crops they planted in late July, he said.
The weather has been dry. But this isn’t usually bad for
vegetables, which are mostly irrigated in Georgia. Dry
conditions keep vegetables diseases down.
Cold weather in more northerly vegetable-producing states like
North and South Carolina has stopped warm-season production up
the Eastern Seaboard. And tropical storms have damaged Florida’s
crop.
“From a price standpoint, Georgia farmers have been able to take
advantage of this situation,” Kelley said. “We’re not getting
big yields this late on the warm-season crops, but prices are
premium.”
For example, good pepper prices for Georgia farmers in the fall
are normally $14 to $15 per 28-pound box. Good yields are 1,400
to 1,600 boxes per acre in October, the height of the fall
harvest. Yields are much lower than that now, but Georgia
farmers are getting close to $30 per box.
“Vegetable prices change on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “It’s
all supply-and-demand. With a short supply like we have now,
those that have something to harvest make good money.”
As temperatures drop, so will Georgia’s warm-season vegetable
production.
But crops like cabbage, onions, carrots and leafy greens will
still be in the ground. And as long as it doesn’t get too cold
and the winds and rains stay mild, Kelley said, these crops
should finish out a good year for the state’s vegetable farmers
and ease them into a good spring crop.
It’s tough to know for sure, but Kelley figures Georgia farmers
have about 50,000 acres of vegetables planted right now. At the
peak of spring production, they had about 100,000 vegetable
acres.
Georgia ranks fourth in the nation in fresh-market vegetable
production. The crop is worth about $700 million annually.
