A four-day freeze in April that proved mildly bothersome for summer-starved New Jerseyans was devastating for Garden State farmers, with growers of tree fruits, strawberries, blueberries, and other early bloomers reporting catastrophic losses, the New Jersey Monitor reports.
Now, Gov. Mikie Sherrill has declared a state of emergency in all 21 counties, a move that should ultimately open up funding to help farmers recover from damages the state estimates could top $300 million.
Desperate farmers say they need the help.
The April 19-22 cold snap, with temperatures dipping into the low 20s, came after a heat wave that drove many perennial crops to flower earlier than usual. The cold spell that followed wasn’t just the freeze of a lifetime, said Jim Giamarese, who farms 130 acres in East Brunswick, but the freeze of a century.
The wintry blip impacted farmers all along the eastern U.S., with the U.S. Department of Agriculture finding that farms in 13 states, from Virginia to Michigan, sustained catastrophic damage to perennial crops.
They're a deep blue state. Here's hoping somehow they get the help they need. On a personal level, I am mourning the loss of New Jersey peaches.
