News 12 at 6 o'clock, June 30, 2008

RIDGE SPRING, S.C.---South Carolina produces about 18,000 acres of peaches every year. A lot of them coming from Edgefield, Ridge Spring and Trenton. The recent lack of rain is causing crops to dry out.

One farm in Ridge Spring is doing what it can to keep the peach crop from drying out.

Dried out peaches and sun burnt leaves are signs that the drought isn't going anywhere soon.

The dry temperatures and lack of water are causing the peach crop at Titan Farms to suffer.

"We need to get some significant rainfall, and not just one time," said Chalmers R. Carr III, owner of Titan Farms. "People think if it rains two inches in a day, the drought's over. That's not true. We need continuous rain to get through this."

And so far, that's just not happening. One of the ponds Chalmers uses for irrigation has dropped more than 10 feet. That's a huge problem.

"We are running irrigation where we can," Chalmers said. "We're having to pick and choose which crops to save, hoping Mother Nature will help us out."

"The smaller peaches aren't marketable," he continued. "Consumers don't want to buy peaches that are too small."

But through the loss of some of his crop, Chalmers still finds an upside.

"The positive thing about a dry year is the fruit is going to be sweeter when you have a dry year. So there's a positive, if there is one," said Chalmers.