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75 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, August 28, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 4, 2004 Orchard manager Luis Balero says this Associated Fruit pear orchard on Payne Road east of Phoenix suffered relatively minor damage from Monday�s hail storm. His problem now is that mud is holding up harvest. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Monday’s hailstorm damages pears Bear Creek’s Royal Crest Orchard was among the hardest hit By GREG STILES Mail Tribune Monday’s hailstorm led to a long Tuesday for Bill Eckart. The Fruit Growers League of Jackson County general manager made the rounds of local pear orchards, surveying damage and recording his findings. "There was a little more damage than we first realized," Eckart said as he eyed a south county orchard. "Some of the damage was spotty and some orchards were hit hard." Eckart was compiling notes so the U.S. Department of Agriculture could determine if growers in a horseshoe-shaped damage zone at the lower end of the valley warrant financial relief. "The way our micro-climate works, you can’t take one orchard’s report and go with it," Eckart said. "You have to go almost acre by acre, and you find out gradually because of the nature of hail." Advertisement He said two major downpours dropped hail the size of nickels. "A lot of the hail was wet," Eckart said. "It didn’t slice fruit, it just punched it. We’re going to be discovering the extent of damage over the next day or two. "Some of the guys originally thought there was no damage, but were unpleasantly surprised thereafter. Those growers may have looked at some of their trees and thought they were fine, but there may have been rows at the far end that were hit." Jackson County has about 7,000 acres of pear orchards. Bear Creek Orchards, which supplies Harry and David’s catalog fruit baskets, has about 3,000 of those acres. The specialty retailer’s Royal Crest Orchard east of Talent was among the hardest hit. Bear Creek spokesman Bill Ihle couldn’t confirm a report that one of the company’s orchards may have suffered a potential 750-ton loss . But given the nature of Bear Creek’s signature Royal Riviera Comice, any defect is costly. "Ours have to be perfect, gift-quality pears, and we’re dealing with a pear that is very thin-skinned," Ihle said. "Obviously, these are the kind of incidents we don’t like to see. One reason we have orchards in so many different areas is so when a storm does come through a specific area it doesn’t cause significant, long-term damage. It may hit one part and leave all the other areas untouched." For some growers, the hail did less harm than first thought. Luis Balero of Associated Fruit in Phoenix said his orchards suffered about a 1 or 2 percent loss. "There was a little bruising and the pears might still grow out of it," Balero said. "It looks as if the worst of it missed us by 300 feet. The hail peeled off some of the skin, just a little nip on the fruit. You could see a little strip when the hail brushed down, but not enough to make a bruise." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities