Farmers Enjoy Mild Weather for a Frost-Free Holiday Weekend : Agriculture: Temperatures ranging from the mid-30s to 60s should continue through the week. No rain or storms are expected, but growers are ready anyway.

Ventura County farmers had the luxury of spending their holiday weekend nights snug in their beds this year, leaving the east winds and a warming cloud cover to protect their crops from cold and frost.

Nighttime temperatures dipped into the low 30s in Ojai, but stayed above 40 in the rest of the county, leaving most wind machines silent, smudge pots cold and farmers at home with their families.

“We very seldom get through a Christmas Eve night without going out” to protect crops, said Don Reeder, manager of Pro Ag, a company that manages farms throughout the county. “But we made it this year.”

Citrus grower Bob Davis of Ojai said the mild temperatures made for a “delightful weekend. People only went out in the night if they wanted to hear Santa’s bells.”

The slightly above-normal temperatures were expected to continue through this week, with daytime temperatures reaching the mid-60s and dropping to 35 to 40 at night, National Weather Service meteorologist Terry Schaeffer said.

No rain is forecast through the end of the week, and no storms are in sight because a high-pressure ridge is deflecting storms to the north and south, he said.

“But we are looking for a pattern change with more wet weather by mid-January,” Schaeffer said.

The weather did not force growers into their orchards over the weekend, but the critical time for frost extends through Feb. 15, and farmers are prepared to move quickly into action if temperatures take a sudden dive.

“Our wind machines have been serviced, our temperature gauges have been checked and I have sprayed the trees with frost-protecting solution,” said Richard Pidduck, a Santa Paula citrus and avocado grower. “But the weather forecast looks like we’re safe. These are peaceful times.”

During the Christmas holidays of 1990, prolonged periods of extreme cold wiped out entire groves, freeze-burned fruit and killed trees, causing $128 million in crop damage countywide.

Growers are still feeling the consequences of that costly natural disaster.

Because avocado trees were damaged, in addition to the fruit on the trees, it took a few seasons to produce a good crop. Pidduck, for instance, had no avocados the first two years.

But this year’s crop was so plentiful for him and other county growers that they made little or no profit for their labors, Pidduck said.

“On one hand, it felt great to be back in production,” he said. “On the other hand, it was disappointing because it wasn’t worth anything. But from a psychological standpoint, I’d much rather be growing fruit than wood and leaves.”

He said he hopes that the lower prices in the market this year encouraged new consumers to buy fruit and that those new avocado eaters will continue to buy the fruit next year when a smaller crop should keep prices high enough to bring profit to farmers.

The county’s largest crop, lemons, rebounded well after the 1990 freeze wiped out one quarter of the $164-million crop. Lemon prices were stable in the market this year, growers said.

But the orange market in Ventura County has a cloudier outlook.

Growers in the San Joaquin Valley have expanded production of navel oranges and extended their growing season.

In addition, Australia, which has opposite seasons from California, ships oranges into the state during Ventura County’s Valencia season, said Link Leavens, ranch manager for the family’s Leavens Ranches.

“We’re in a world market,” Leavens said. “Then you add the overproduction of oranges in Florida and Brazil. And who knows what NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) will do, because Mexico has lots of oranges.”

But Leavens said the immediate problem is getting past the freezing weather that typically hits between now and mid-February.

“We’ve got all the machines and heaters and irrigation water all ready,” he said. “As an industry, we are all much smarter and better-prepared than we were in 1990.”