Washington state: Mother Nature hits area farmers hard

Cold spring weather put a damper on what could have been a profitable harvest

The coldest, wettest spring in Snohomish County memory has taken a toll on heat-loving area crops, particularly pumpkins and sweet corn. Families will still be able to select a pumpkin at many area farms next month, but pickings will be slimmer and prices will be higher. The worst-hit farms will have to truck in pumpkins from other parts of the state, as will grocery stores that normally purchased extras from area farmers.

It's the same story with sweet corn. Here, Carleton isn't as lucky.

"This is the worst sweet corn year I've ever had," said Carleton, who has farmed for 40 years.

He toured his fields recently on his green John Deere tractor, pointing out rows of four-feet-high corn that should stretch higher this time of year. Some fields are more dirt and weeds than corn. A late spring snow melt flooded his lower fields, drowning some of his early plantings.

He normally starts planting in late April, but winter wouldn't loosen its grip. Even plastic tarps designed to warm soil didn't help. His first seeds didn't go in the ground until late May. In total, he estimates he lost half his sweet corn crop. He wasn't able to supply the Evergreen State Fair with the 30,000 ears of sweet corn he normally does.
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Sweet corn and pumpkins were hit the hardest, but area farmers also reported lower yields and late starts on many other crops, including cucumbers, squash, strawberries and blueberries. The wet, cool weather also created more disease problems for many types of crops. Ed Husmann, a small apple grower, reported a higher yield than last year, but he said his fruit is producing later than normal and the weather increased the risk of diseases such as scab and powdery mildew.

In a typical year, Stocker grows about 8 tons of strawberries and 35 tons of blueberries along with sweet corn, pumpkins and other vegetables. This year his fruit yield has declined about 40 percent. A snow in late April right when his blueberries were setting blooms did him no favors, he said.

His vegetables matured three to four weeks later than normal, something that throws customers off. The quality and quantity are good, but customers aren't ready to buy now.