US (AR): Schnepf Farms to use helicopter to save peach crop from frost

Schnepf Farms of Queen Creek is calling in air support to battle the freezing temperatures that threaten their peaches. Owner Mark Schnepf is renting a helicopter - at a cost of about $850 an hour to hover over one of their orchards for a couple of hours before sunrise Thursday and Friday mornings. The idea said, is to replace the colder air near the ground with the slightly warmer air above.

A difference of just a few degrees can mean the difference between light damage and total loss of what they claim is Arizona's largest peach crop. In addition to the helicopter, Schnepf, who runs the farm with his wife, Carrie, is using hot water from a geothermal well and about 50 propane heaters to try to protect their peaches, which they value at around a quarter of a million dollars.