<p>In the wake of recent cold weather, South Carolina peach growers are assessing the extent of the damage.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The crop was originally hit by a late-March hard freeze during which temperatures dropped to 28 degrees on back to back nights, according to WBJF.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img class="small-cropped-image" src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacySmallCroppedImages/carr-headshot.jpg" alt="Cropped Images May 21st, 2013" />"We did have a freeze in late-March that gave us a little bit of crop damage. So overall I'd say we have 75% of our crop. We lost some of our early varieties due to that, especially in some low-lying areas," said Chalmers Carr, owner of Titan Farms.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">But Mother Nature wasn’t finished there. Last week, temperatures dropped to 40 degrees, a record low. Things didn’t get cold enough to cause more damage, however it slowed production down by two weeks.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Despite the cold, the news isn’t all bad for Titan Farms.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"We've had a very long, drawn-out bloom. We've had good cell development which should make for larger sized peaches as we go into the ripening process. It gives the fruit a better chance of getting its sweetness as well," said Carr.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">If temperatures had been one to two degrees colder, Carr said he would have lost the whole crop. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.wjbf.com/story/22301383/cold-weather-damages-south-carolina-peach-crop" target="_new">Peach Report</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
