Farm Credit Newsroom

August is National Peach Month, and despite the drought, peaches from many of the country’s 28 commercial production states are in peak season. California, South Carolina and Georgia produce the most peaches in the country but visitors to this week's Palisade Peach Festival in Colorado will still get a mouthful -- the state produces 22 million pounds of the fruit annually, 90 percent of which are grown in the Palisade region.

Farm Credit customers Clark Family Orchards and Talbott Farms are both involved in this year’s festivities. Here are several other peach producers featured on the Producing Excellence website:

• Abundant Harvest's Vernon Peterson switched from conventional to organic methods in 2003 and supplies peaches, produce and chickens to his California-based CSA.
• In addition to his 1,000 acres of pecans and 100 acres of produce, Kinley Sorrels grows 25 acres of peach trees.   
• Jimmy Carter of Southern Belle Farms in McDonough, Ga. added peach trees to his operation last winter.

What's your favorite way to eat a peach? Canned, jammed or straight off the tree? Pie or cobbler?