Weather News

Selection At Farmers Market Impacted By Storm

ST. PAUL (WCCO) ― Powerful storms packing high winds and heavy hail last Thursday caused problems for a lot of farmers who are only weeks away from harvest.

It also means some problems for all of us who buy fruits and vegetables at the St. Paul Farmers' Market in downtown St. Paul. There's less to sell and less to buy because of the storm.

Bou Xiong showed pictures of the damaged crops from her family's farm in Coates, Minnesota, southeast of the Twin Cities. It was once a field of dreams. Now it's a field of disappointment.

"I cried, just because this is actually what we do," said Xiong, gesturing to the produce.

The storm hit red potatoes, red peppers, rhubarb and other crops. They also hit the heart, and it hurts Xiong. She knows how much time, energy and money that went into planting everything. Thousands of dollars in crops are now lost.

At the Farmers' Market Sunday morning, she had only a bushel of green beans to sell. Usually she has three to five bushels. Her family was able to salvage some potatoes.

"With all the damage, we are pretty much out of work for the summer," she said. "With the damage and everything, it's just really devastating to us and my parents."

Jack Gerten runs the Market and has talked with other family farmers about the storm's effects.

"It's devastating," he said. "They're going to see the tomatoes, and the sweet corn, and the green beans and the peas and all the rest of the items coming in. They're just going to see a little bit less of a selection, because of the amount of growers that will not have a crop."

You also might notice the vegetables look a little different. The storm knocked them around. Zucchini at one stand had dents from the hail hitting it.

Gerten wants people to know that the Market is in business, but it's just a little "thinned out," as he called it. 

Xiong would like to erase the memories of the storm and its effects, especially the financial ones.

She and her family will have to replant everything again and just try and make it through the next couple months.

"We're still in a little bit of denial with the storm hitting," she said. "We just hope for the best."

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