HOLLY HILL, S.C. — Berry farmers in Orangeburg County say they're feeling the impact of recent changes in weather with many experiencing a major loss.
“The farming community is what feeds the world," said Earley.
Walter Earley is the owner of the family-owned Hickory Bluff Berry Farm in Holly Hill. He says every year in farming is different, but this year presented some new challenges.
“I think what hurt us most than anything is the extreme, the weather extremes, you know, we have 80 degree days and the next thing in three or four days it’s freezing again," said Earley.
Earley says this year's cold freezes caused him to lose about 30 percent of his crops on the farm. However, thanks to row covers, he was able to save most of his strawberries.
Strawberries are one of the farm's biggest cash crops.
"Normally you would expect about a two to three month dormancy with strawberry plants but they didn't really get much dormancy," he said.
But thankfully he says most of his other crops are still going strong.
"We've got overall a good crop. The plants are not as big as what they would normally be this time of year but we have faith that they're gonna come on and grow and we'll have a good season."
The farm is now getting ready to plant produce like squash, zucchini, and tomatoes.
“We’ll start that soon as we feel comfortable and we won’t have anymore frost. You know Easter’s late this year and that’s a sign. So we try to watch the weather. I don't ever try to plant too early. I like to plant somewhere around the first week, week and a half of April if I can," said Earley.