A Tough Row to Hoe : Big Chill of ’90 Takes Toll on County Farmers and Laborers : Growers

In the midst of a forlorn battle to save his citrus crop from a deadly freeze,the U.S. Air Force Reserve notified Ojai grower Bob Davis to prepare for a possible call to active duty in support of Operation Desert Shield.

Davis, a lieutenant colonel, was too involved with fighting nature to be overly concerned about going to war at age 51.

“I thought, ‘When it rains, it pours,’ ” said Davis of the letter that arrived Christmas Eve. “What else could go wrong?”

Thursday, Davis learned that orchard heaters, wind machines, helicopters and relatives were enough to save only about half of his 100-acre orange and lemon crop. But Davis felt even worse for a neighbor as he listened to the wind rustling the freeze-dried leaves of an adjacent avocado grove.

“Isn’t that a terrible sound?” said Davis, standing in a section of his orchards where temperatures fell to 23 degrees Saturday. “That’s certainly not the rustle of money.”

Davis said he remains upbeat because of his investment philosophy. “Real money is made slowly over a long period of time.”

But real money also was lost quickly last week. One of the century’s worst freezes robbed Davis and other Ventura County growers of an estimated $100 million worth of produce. The full extent of damage might not be known for weeks.

Davis, ranch manager Henry Cardoza and members of their families invested several nights of sweat equity trying to get ground temperatures above the 28-degree level. About a third of Davis’ property, which his parents bought in 1937, lacked orchard heaters, helicopter support and water insulation, relying only on towering wind machines to keep temperatures from dipping below 28 for more than the critical four-hour period.

Thursday, the president of the Ojai-Tapo Citrus Assn. toured Davis’ property for a damage assessment. Al Bakalian, whose association is a growers’ cooperative linked to Sunkist, estimated that half of Davis’ crop might have survived the freeze, although much of the fruit could be damaged and will not bring a premium price.

Davis fared better than many Ojai Valley growers, said Bakalian, who had toured 15 farms by Thursday afternoon. He estimated that 70% of the valley’s citrus crop is lost.

The freeze hit randomly throughout Davis’ groves. Some trees bore crumpled, turned-up leaves that had changed to a lime-green color, while others across the road appeared fine. In many cases, trees appeared to suffer freezer burn on one side but were fairly lush on the other.

Davis picked an orange from one of his hardest-hit trees and, upon slicing, showed where the sacs had burst, allowing the juice to run freely inside. The skin appeared slightly translucent, while the fruit itself was mushy.

“No question that this fruit is blasted,” Davis said. Within a few weeks “the dead fruit will look like straw inside,” he said.

Davis said navel oranges should fare better than Valencias, because they were riper and bore more sugar, which helped against the cold. He has three acres of oranges planted for each acre of lemons, with Valencias making up 90% of his orange crop. Severely damaged Valencias would be too young to salvage quickly for juice processing, since they were not due for harvest until at least April, he said.

Some of Davis’ younger trees appeared to be reeling from drought rather than a cold snap. “It almost looks like they wilted because we didn’t water them,” said Davis as he walked by unthawed patches of ice still remaining on the ground from irrigation water sprayed as an insulator. “I don’t know whether these younger trees will survive.”

Even if the trees do survive, freeze damage can affect their yield for several years. “The better shape they’re in now, the better set we’ll be for next year,” said Davis, who is preparing to harvest what’s left of his lemon crop in the next few weeks.

As for the value of marketable fruit, Bakalian said packinghouses accept a special grade that carry no outward scars but might be of lower quality inside. The freeze-damaged oranges and lemons will fetch 20% less than top-grade fruit, but still bring 5% more than fruit damaged outside but not within, he said.

“People still buy with their eyes,” Bakalian said.

Davis said fruit with only limited sections of burst juice sacs can heal themselves and make the special grade. “Most of the fruit on these trees, if it isn’t lost, it will be downgraded,” he said.

Davis said he went through about 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel in keeping his 1,200 orchard heaters lit. He almost ran out of fuel in the midst of the freeze, but a neighbor provided nearly 4,000 gallons and he took delivery Monday of about 7,500 gallons.

Davis took time out Wednesday to play a round of golf with his son, Rob, and then slept through the night for the first time in a week. During the coldest nights, Davis got by on less than two hours of sleep grabbed in about 30-minute intervals.

“I still have something to save,” said Davis, referring to another anticipated cold snap this weekend.

The fruit still salvageable from his depleted crop will be worth saving even more this weekend. Davis said prices paid to navel orange growers jumped more than 50% since the freeze hit.

As for his military notice, Davis said it is just a coincidence that he is flying to Canada for a ski trip next week.

“The letter did say in support of Desert Shield, so I’ll probably end up in San Pedro” at an Air Force Reserve regional headquarters, said Davis, who served as an Air Force captain in the mid-1960s. “You’re in the reserves, that’s what you’re there for. I don’t think it will happen, but if I get called, I’ll go.”