<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;line-height:130%"> Mesa County, CO</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By Eric Anderson<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">4.17.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Parts of Colorado’s Mesa County are facing another storm warning. That, combined with upcoming chilly nights, have fruit farmers worried their crops many not make it through another frost. <img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/shutterstock_41303518.jpg" alt="images041613" />Two weeks ago, apricot trees were in full bloom, but got hit hard by cold temperatures, and farmers now say there is no chance for a commercial crop, as reported by KKCO11News.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"Quite a few buds out there and quite a few blossoms starting up at this point anything that is in bloom any blossoms will die when it gets into the low 20's," said Farmer Dave Helmer of Alidas Farm.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">This time, peach trees are in full bloom and farmers fear the cold temperatures in the forecast could lead them to a similar fate as the apricots.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Helmer noted that losing 80-90% of a crop just means Mother Nature has done the pruning for him but anything more is devastating.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"But losing the remaining 10-20 percent that you count on is devastating because that is your crop that is your money for the year and sounds like that's what's going to happen here over the next couple of nights," said Helmer.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Local farmers said that long winters have prevented a good apricot crop for the past five years.</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.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/A-long-winter-hits-apricots-hard-and-could-hurt-peaches-203322211.html " target="_new">Peach Report </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
