About this time of year, Lon Inaba would have workers out in his Lower Valley fields checking asparagus plants and preparing to plant other crops.
Instead, his crew is watching workplace safety videos as they wait for the snow to melt.
“We have to get it done,” Inaba said.
While most growers anticipate that the Valley’s orchards, vineyards and perennial plants will withstand the unseasonably cold weather and snowstorms, the harvest cycle — particularly for cherries and asparagus — might start later than usual.
That could mean locavores will have to wait a few extra weeks for their favorite produce, but for growers it could cause a glut on the market if the western United States’ crops hit the shelves and stands all at once.
After a snowless start, winter weather hit the Yakima Valley with a vengeance in February, with a record-setting 31 inches of snow dumped on Yakima through the month.
Valley residents also experienced a blizzard Feb. 9 that brought snow and high winds to the area, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,800 dairy cows at several farms, with dairy owners and workers scrambling to erect makeshift shelters for the animals and clear roadways to ship milk.
Chelsie Riordan, spokeswoman for the Dairy Farmers of Washington, said the industry is already recovering, as farmers are acquiring replacement cows.
Fruit and vegetable growers are confident that the Valley’s orchards, vineyards and asparagus fields rode out the storms with little damage.
“There’s going to be some dead buds on cherries, apricots and pears, but for the most part, the hardiness was up,” said B.J. Thurlby, president of the Washington State Fruit Commission.
He said cold weather in December was likely enough to prepare the trees for the winter.
Inaba said asparagus plants, which are perennials, fared well. Most likely, he said, it would be the weakest crowns that would be lost due to the weather.
Right now, it’s a matter of waiting for the snow to melt so workers can get out in the fields and start tending the asparagus as well as preparing beds for his other crops, Inaba said.
In some ways, he’s not looking forward to that.
“It’s going to be as muddy as heck when we get out there,” Inaba said.
He’s also planting cabbage and kale in a greenhouse to get it started, and he hopes it can go into the ground at the right time.
Thurlby anticipates that Washington growers will produce more than 20 million boxes of cherries this season, despite the cold weather.
