Despite drought, Porter peaches are abundant and tasty this year

Have you noticed how good some of the locally-grown fruits and vegetables are this year?

Especially the Porter peaches?

"It's a very large crop,"says Kent Livesay, co-owner of Livesay Orchards in Wagoner County.

"We didn't have any damage to the peach crop in the spring and it was much earlier than normal. (It was) probably three weeks ahead of schedule this year."

That's because of our mild winter and spring.

And, Livesay says, the dry start to the summer has actually benefitted the taste of this year's Porter peaches.

"The flavor's been excellent. That may be one benefit of the drier weather."

But, Livesay says the current drought is threatening his other crops like tomatoes, watermelons and apples.

"We have some irrigation, but not enough to compensate for this drought we're in."