SANTAQUIN, Utah — Weeks after a hard freeze that caused devastating crop losses for many of Utah's fruit farmers, the season of farmers’ markets and summer festivals is fast approaching.
In southern Utah County, they’ve seen ups and downs through the years.
“When I was growing up, most of these trees were already here,” said Kent Pyne, the owner of Pyne Farms.
Kent Pyne grew up as a fourth-generation fruit farmer in Santaquin, having taken the torch from his dad about a decade ago.
“My dad hasn’t seen it since 1972,” said Pyne. “We had back-to-back nights of 24, 25 degrees - and it wiped everything out.”
Pyne Farms was blanketed in snow and suffered a total crop failure.
“Across the board, with peaches, apples and cherries, for most growers,” Pyne said. “Usually, the apples would be as big as a sweet cherry right now.”
Instead, he’s left with 35 acres of abundant leaves and wilted blooms. All of this lost crop comes at a serious cost for Pyne. He says he normally sees more than $200,000 of total revenue in any given year. His story, sadly, isn’t an uncommon one across the state.
“We have been hearing from our fruit farmers - not of just some loss with the freeze - but total loss with tree fruit,” said Carly Gillespie.
Carly Gillespie directs Urban Food Connections of Utah, the non-profit which oversees Salt Lake City’s Downtown Farmers Market.
Gillespie notes it’s coming off one of its best winter seasons yet, having made the move to the old Leonardo museum. They say vendors reported strong growth in sales, anywhere from 25 to 50%.
But as they gear up to go outdoors for the summer season, they’re expecting slim pickings when it comes to fruit.
“Something that the downtown farmers market really values is supporting local farmers,” Gillespie said. “We do not allow re-selling.”
Those values won’t change this year, and Gillespie adds they only take farmers who come from within a 250-mile radius. This year, they say that will mean a vendor from Palisades, Colorado, may be the only one to provide fresh fruit to this Utah market.
Gillespie says there will still be veggies and plentiful other products - and it also won’t necessarily mean vendors like Pyne Farms will go away.
“I’m going to sell apple cider doughnuts and apple cider slushies,” Pyne said.
But the absence of fresh fruit will serve as a reminder.
“This is what farming is,” said Gillespie. “This is why we have to support our local growers.”
They say any local purchases can go a long way for Pyne and many others, as they face a long, lean year ahead.
“Let them know that you appreciate them,” Pyne said. “Just help farmers get through the year.”
There is a GoFundMe that’s been put together for Pyne Farms as they try to recover from those losses and manage tens of thousands of dollars in operational costs, from labor to diesel fuel to caring for the orchards. If you'd like to support them this season, you can find their link here.
