Horseradish
harvest
Weather
was cooperative; fuel costs start to affect profitability
By
TY BEAVER
H&N
Staff Writer
November
2, 2006
H&N
photos by Todd E. Swenson Horseradish
is harvested at Seus Farms in Tulelake on Tuesday. Grower Scott Seus
said he harvested about 500 acres this year.
TULELAKE — Horseradish harvesting in the Klamath Basin is wrapping
up south of the Oregon-California border. Harvesting conditions were
good this year, though high fuel costs are beginning to affect the
crop’s profitability.
Grower Scott Seus said he harvested about 500 acres this year. David
Krizo, grower and vice president of the Tulelake Horseradish Growers
Association, said he had 300 acres of production. The association is
comprised of three growers.
The weather was more cooperative compared to last year, which had
rain and cold. Mild temperatures and fair weather made the harvest
less troublesome, Seus said. Both growers said the crop was average
this year.
Most of the harvested crop will be going to domestic sources, but
Seus and Krizo said they’ve experienced some reduction in demand
because of shipping expenses associated with high fuel costs.
Seus said he’s taking several acres out of production for the
future because of the increasing cost to ship the product and will
shift that acreage to something with a higher profit margin.
Krizo said that he lost contracts with buyers on the East Coast
because of the cost of shipping, but he was able to find more
contracts on the West Coast to counteract the loss.