On one frigid morning in early May, an entire industry was devastated, to the tune of $42 million.
The wintry frost on May 8 wiped out more than 90 percent of Utah's fruit production — the worst freeze since 1972, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Food.
On Tuesday, a group of Utah fruit growers gathered at the UDAF office to tell their stories and petition the government for emergency disaster assistance.
"The situation is not good," said Gay Pettingill, one of Box Elder County's largest growers. "There's a lot of fruit growers out there that make a full-time living out of it. They have no second job. So when you've got a peach orchard and no peaches, you know it's not good. It's pretty bleak."
Growers from northern Utah to Utah County suffered catastrophic losses, UDAF Commissioner Cary G. Peterson said. Many lost 100 percent of their crops and need emergency government assistance, he said.
Gov. Mike Leavitt already has declared a state of emergency due to the drought and cricket and grasshopper infestations. Peterson on Tuesday led a discussion that will result in a request to Leavitt to add damage from frost, hail and wind to that declaration. Requests also will be sent to Utah's congressional delegation and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman for aid.
Without it, growers like Muir-Roberts Co. questioned whether they would be able to recover. Not only do they have to worry about empty bank accounts until the next harvest season, but they also have to spend money to maintain their land to make sure they'll have a crop next season.
"The frustrating thing is that we still have to go to work," Muir-Roberts plant manager David White said. "We still have to water the trees, prune, all of that. Those who have civilian jobs, if they lose their jobs, they go out and find another. We still have to go to work. And there's really no way to recoup that."
Not without help, said Joe Hill, chairman of the Farm Service Agency's Utah office.
"I don't think anyone understands how serious this is," Hill said. "The consumers don't understand it. Only those of us here, people in agriculture. It's a serious situation, and it's going to be a battle. But we've got congressional representatives here, and they need to help us fight it."
Saving Utah's fruit growers is worth the fight, Peterson said.
"It's so wrenching," he said. "We're talking about the prime agricultural acreage in the state. It's the part that is worth guarding. It's worth protecting and passing on, and it's worth fighting for. It's worth making a united request (for aid)."
But it will take a delegation of growers, state and congressional leaders to make the case, he said. Farmers responded Tuesday, providing data on the financial impact of the frost. Representatives from Utah's congressional delegation pledged they would work to make sure Utah's needs were heard. Letters were scheduled to be sent to Leavitt and Veneman on Wednesday.
Then the growers will wait to see what will become of their way of life. Right now, it looks pretty barren.
"It's discouraging when you walk into an orchard, and you expect to see something. Anything. Even 20 percent of your crop," White said. "But you can walk hundreds and hundreds of yards and not see a thing."
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