Cold weather sends chill through Fallbrook's avocado crop

“Normally on these trees, you would see hundreds and hundreds of fruit,” Harold Stewart, said the owner of Stewart Avocado Farms in Fallbrook.

His farm is home to about 2,000 avocado trees, each growing upwards of a million blooms. But this year, Stewart says the crop is virtually almost non-existent.

He says the cold weather is partly to blame. A frost advisory has been in effect for the last few mornings as temperatures drop to near-freezing levels overnight.

His farm produces between 250,000 to 400,000 pounds of Avocados per year, but this year only about 10,000 pounds were produced.

“That’s a huge loss and we still have to water the trees, we still have to fertilize, maintain them and that makes it really, really rough,” Stewart said. “Weather is a huge factor with profitability and sustainability."

Stewart said he has turned to other income sources to keep his Avocado farm afloat. And, imports are also taking a toll on his bottom line.

“The problem is, is these imports are flooding the market when we’re supposed to be selling,” Stewart said.

Stewart said investment from the local community is crucial in supporting the local economy. It also impacts the price you pay at the grocery store.

“The more farms that go out of business, the higher prices are going to become, and the sustainability isn’t there for the local farmers so they’re going to be relying on foreign fruit,” Stewart said.

He hopes the weather will be better this year.

He also said having locally grown food purchased first puts a priority on farmers like himself in staying in business.