Palasade, CO are peaches are expected to start shipping earlier this year from Mesa County. However, Delta County peaches apparently were hit pretty hard by weather conditions, with volume seen being much less than normal.
Talbott Farms of Palasade, report peaching loadings will be starting this week, noting this will be the earliest start of the season they have ever experienced.
The grower/shipper ships 75 percent of its fruit out of state to markets such as Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas and Nebraska.
Western typically Colorado starts around the middle of July and extends through September 20-25. August and September are the peak shipping periods. This year, with the start in the last week of June, late July and August will be the peak loading times. The season could be over by Labor Day with late season variety.
Colorado is facing a reduction in crop size with peaches following freezes in April, though reports are mixed as to how growers and their crops are affected. The cold hit following a warmer than usual March and there are reports that regions such as Delta County largely have no commercial fruit this season.