Following a February that brought warmer weather than anticipated, leading peach trees to bloom ahead of mid-March freezes, the state Department of Agriculture says the state lost 75% of its peach crops, South Carolina’s biggest loss of peaches since 2017.

The impact is being felt throughout the state, including here in Lexington County.

The Sweet Peach Roadside Stand, with locations in Lexington and Gilbert, told the Chronicle that they were only able to salvage 15% of their peach crop this year. The stands are stocked with peaches from Cotton Hope Farms, headquartered at 202 Farm View Rd. in Batesburg-Leesville.

Mandy Bodie, chief operations officer for the stands, said they are typically stocked with roughly 40 varieties of peaches, but due to the loss, they only had about 10 varieties this season. Bodie said their farm’s white peaches were hit harder than some of their other varieties.

According to Eva Moore, communications director for the Department of Agriculture, while South Carolina lost about three-quarters of its 2023 peach crop, Georgia was hit even harder and suffered a roughly 90% loss in peaches.

“South Carolina farmers are still picking peaches, and some farms escaped with no damage,” Moore said. “I went to the State Farmers Market yesterday and still saw plenty of peaches. I’ve seen S.C. peaches on restaurant menus, too.

“However, the volume of local peaches in local grocery stores may be lighter,” she added. “People in South Carolina and up and down the East Coast get excited for S.C. peach season, so I hope retailers are finding it worth their while to stock S.C. peaches.”

Moore told the Chronicle that the losses throughout the state varied, with some farms not suffering any loss, while others saw a total loss. She said the Upstate was hit the hardest, with the general area near Batesburg-Leesville and west suffering as well.

Titan Farms, located in Ridge Spring in neighboring Saluda County suffered a 70% loss of crops, with CEO Jason Rogers telling the Chronicle that it seems to have affected every farmer in some way.

Neither farm the Chronicle spoke to had an estimate on how much money they lost due to the damaged crops.

According to the 2022 State Agriculture Overview, the state grew about $100 million worth of peaches.

“Fewer peaches to pick means fewer workers spending money locally, it means fewer truckloads of peaches that need drivers to drive them, it means less money coming back to SC’s rural communities,” Moore said.

Both the farms the Chronicle spoke to said their future crops will not be affected by this freeze, explaining that only the blooms were damaged and that the trees themselves remain unharmed. 

Rogers added there is nothing that can be done to prevent or prepare for a frost.

“You’re at the mercy of nature,” he said.