Posted on May 7, 2023
Spring push: Long cool spring, then record warmth sends Northwest farmers scrambling
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Celestino Mendoza loads colorful plastic asparagus lugs off a flatbed ‘95 Ford pickup at the end of a warm day.
His woven straw hat shades his face, but a smile flashes through the shadow when asked if the heat has meant a lot of work.
“I’m ready to go home,” he chuckles softly.
Work has been heavy at this farm north of Pasco for around a week now, especially since a burst of asparagus came in with the record high weekend temperatures that hit some areas of the Northwest.
Asparagus pushes out of the ground from their crowns when the soil temperature reaches above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
This recent burst of work – and so much asparagus, farmers call it “grass” – was a surprise. It’s been so cold this spring that for one of Washington asparagus farmers’ top-selling holidays – Easter – they didn’t have any to cut. They’re hoping Mother’s Day will make up for some of the lost sales.
His woven straw hat shades his face, but a smile flashes through the shadow when asked if the heat has meant a lot of work.
“I’m ready to go home,” he chuckles softly.
Work has been heavy at this farm north of Pasco for around a week now, especially since a burst of asparagus came in with the record high weekend temperatures that hit some areas of the Northwest.
Asparagus pushes out of the ground from their crowns when the soil temperature reaches above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
This recent burst of work – and so much asparagus, farmers call it “grass” – was a surprise. It’s been so cold this spring that for one of Washington asparagus farmers’ top-selling holidays – Easter – they didn’t have any to cut. They’re hoping Mother’s Day will make up for some of the lost sales.
Spring push: Long cool spring, then record warmth sends Northwest farmers scrambling
Posted from kuow.org
Farming
Agriculture
State of Washington
Ranching
Posted 12 mo ago
Responses: 1
1
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The ‘grass’
Gary Larsen, the owner of a roughly 95-acre asparagus farm north of Pasco, said he's been getting up at 4 a.m. this past week.
“It’s a good problem, but it puts a lot of pressure on ya,” Larsen said. “Do you have enough boxes? Do you have enough trucks? Are your workers gonna make it? You get through the day and celebrate at the end – ‘Yeah, we made it!’ And then you have the next day to feel all those emotions again. Do we have enough boxes? Are the workers going to show up?”
The workers start picking at 3 a.m., he said, to beat the heat of the day. They bend low to the ground with a knife and have to decide in seconds which spears to cut, which ones to leave to grow more the next day, and which are damaged enough to trash.
“Without those workers, there wouldn’t be an asparagus industry anywhere,” Larsen said.
In just a few days, Larsen’s crew of 60 workers cut 195,000 pounds of asparagus. That’s a semi truck load, plus an additional, smaller trailer pulling out of the farm every day, he said.
“I was very happy,” Larsen said about the grass tally. “That took care of a lot of payroll.”...
..."The ‘grass’
Gary Larsen, the owner of a roughly 95-acre asparagus farm north of Pasco, said he's been getting up at 4 a.m. this past week.
“It’s a good problem, but it puts a lot of pressure on ya,” Larsen said. “Do you have enough boxes? Do you have enough trucks? Are your workers gonna make it? You get through the day and celebrate at the end – ‘Yeah, we made it!’ And then you have the next day to feel all those emotions again. Do we have enough boxes? Are the workers going to show up?”
The workers start picking at 3 a.m., he said, to beat the heat of the day. They bend low to the ground with a knife and have to decide in seconds which spears to cut, which ones to leave to grow more the next day, and which are damaged enough to trash.
“Without those workers, there wouldn’t be an asparagus industry anywhere,” Larsen said.
In just a few days, Larsen’s crew of 60 workers cut 195,000 pounds of asparagus. That’s a semi truck load, plus an additional, smaller trailer pulling out of the farm every day, he said.
“I was very happy,” Larsen said about the grass tally. “That took care of a lot of payroll.”...
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