Central Coast agriculture facing challenges mmid record heat wave
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – As the extended heat wave continues to bring unseasonable weather conditions to the Central Coast, it's also presenting challenges for the local agriculture industry.
"It is has been extremely challenging this March," said Satellite Farms owner, Randy Sharer. "We've come through what will be the warmest March along the Central Coast in the last 150 years, and it's had a dramatic affect on what we do out here in the country."
Sharer, who has farmed the Santa Maria Valley for more than 40 years, described how the crops try and stay cool while they sit under the bright sunlight for hours.
"Plants being a living thing, they'd sure like to get in the shade, but plants don't have legs, so they're stuck (in the ground)," said Sharer. "Humans and mammals sweat, but plants transpire, which is they're pulling moisture out of the ground and circulating through their plant to stay cool and maintain moisture just like we humans do."
According to Sharer, some of the crops are more resilient to the heat, such as strawberries and broccoli, others are more susceptible to damage.
"We have trouble with lettuce," said Sharer. "As lettuce is transpiring, they're also pushing salt out to the tips of the leaves," said Sharer. "Broccoli, we don't ship leaves, but lettuce has leaves and that's where we get temperature burn, so it is problematic to deal with quality in the marketplace."
Another recent concern Sharer added has been the higher than usual nighttime temperatures.
"Plants resperate in the evening when it's warm, much like a dog does during the day," said Sharer. "If you've ever been around a hot dog panting a lot, that's what plants do when they're resperating carbon dioxide, which in turn, that carbon dioxide isn't available to convert to photosynthesis in the morning, so it really does have an effect on what we do as far as production."
Another significant issue the heat brings to the fields each day is the toll it takes on the people who are working for hours in the challenging environment.
"This heat is just difficult for folks to be working in," said Sharer. "We make sure we have plenty of ice every morning to keep the flow of water going into our folks, and we provide shade during their breaks, and we're constantly monitoring the weather for the safety of the folks that work out here in the country."
As for the local grape crop, the warmer than normal conditions have not been detrimental to the health of the plants.
"The heat really has accelerated everything growth wise," said Kevin Merrill, Mesa Vineyard Management Manager. "We're two weeks to even more ahead of schedule here. As you can see, the vines are growing really fast. They look great. We're a little nervous for this time of year, though, for having them out so far."
Merrill worried should the weather take a dramatic turn in temperature in the days or weeks ahead, it could potentially cause significant issues to the crop.
"At this time of year, we're so susceptible to frost damage here," said Merrill. "April, we can get quite a few freezes. We have the frost protect the vines, and at this stage, it makes it tricky because the vine the growth is so tall that if we turn the sprinklers on now, you could break these canes. You could lose the fruit set and so that's a real concern, and as far out as these grapes are to get a frost now would be devastating."
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