‘Really hit us hard’: Lufkin blueberry farms grapple with loss following March freeze

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - Symptoms of a freeze that swept across East Texas in March are still being felt in May, as Lufkin blueberry farms drudge through a season far slower than usual.

Deann Jasper, who owns Grimes Blueberry Farm in Lufkin, said the freeze cost them 80% of their berries overnight.

“We were at the bloom stage, and the berries were just starting to form and we froze out,” Jasper said. “The very next morning we went out and you could start seeing leaves curl up, and the buds were starting to turn brown.”

She said four or five days later, all the blooms had fallen off.

“We have had late freezes before, but not to this extent. This one really hit us hard,” Jasper said. “Normally we’re working six days a week, sunup to sundown.”

One field was damaged less due to a tree line that offered some protection.

“We have four fields and we would be picking rotating fields every day. But this year, due to the other three fields being froze out, we are just basically picking in one field. So, you have to pick it every three or four days,” she explained.

The Grimes Blueberry Farm is not the only field facing the same trouble.

“It wasn’t just the blueberry farmers, although there are three or four here in Angelina County. It’s the peach growers, the plum growers, the backyard gardener. A lot of people lost a lot of produce due to the freeze,” Jasper said.

The Blueberry Place in Nacogdoches, which works with the annual Nacogdoches Blueberry Festival, said it was also experiencing challenges from the freeze.

However, they said they would still have enough berries to participate in the festival. Both farms said visitors will still be able to pick berries off the bushes.

Jasper encourages the community to keep supporting the farmers.

“East Texas has been a farming community for years, whether it’s the backyard farmer, a backyard gardener,” Jasper said. “It’s just important to keep your local community thriving and that’s what farming does, whether it’s the local farmer market that you’re supporting or a local individual farm.”