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austinstatesman:

Trifecta of drought, late freeze, hail decimate Hill Country peach crop

Picking up Fredericksburg peaches at the grocery store or a roadside stand is a tradition of the warmer months in Austin, as much as finding a patch of bluebonnets in which to take a photo. But this year, finding Fredericksburg peaches in Austin isn’t likely:

“Ricky Priess, owner of Gold Orchards in Stonewall, whose family has been growing peaches since 1940, said that he has lost has entire crop for the year. … Over the past 10 years, he’s had five years with very small crops or no crops at all. He’s only had a bumper crop in 2010. In the past four years, he’s lost 20 acres of peach trees.”

About 40 percent of Texas’ peach crop comes from the Hill Country:

“Texas typically produces 23 million pounds of peaches a year, with an annual production value of about $33 million, according to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Gillespie County has about 1,400 acres of commercial peach orchards, and 40 percent of the state’s peaches come from the area, according to the Hill Country Fruit Council.”

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