For Georgia farmers who have struggled to grow melons in the midst of a hard, lingering drought, nature has added insult to injury.

In a normal year, the demand for watermelons goes up throughout the late spring and early summer, peaking during the Fourth of July holiday.

In a normal year.

This year, though, the winter and spring were unusually warm. In fact, the watermelons in Georgia grew so fast in the balmy weather that they, in effect, caught up with their cousins in Florida.

The resulting oversupply is giving shoppers some bargain melons and farmers some marketing headaches, said Darbie Granberry, an Extension Service horticulturist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Bargain Watermelons

"I think you'll really see a bargain on watermelons," Granberry said. Unfortunately for the grower, the price is down nearly to the break-even point -- in some cases, even lower.

Florida-grown watermelons usually hit the market first, followed by those grown in Georgia. But this year the Florida-grown and Georgia-grown melons hit the market at about the same time.

Granberry said growers' costs this year were unusually high, with the drought forcing extra irrigation and high oil prices pushing up fuel costs. The depressed prices further burden the already hard-hit growers.

Little Left for Farmers

Coy Tawzer, who farms in Tift County, said he has little left after paying harvesting and shipping costs on his 50-acre watermelon crop.

"We actually get 2 cents for these watermelons, 2 cents a pound," Tawzer said. "It's sickening to have to sell them for this. But we can't just walk away from them. We have to load them for whatever the market price is."

The bad year could force Tawzer out of the business. "Well, right now it's real doubtful that we'll grow any (next year)," he said.

Georgia farmers grow about 38,000 acres of watermelons. In a typical year, the crop contributes $40 million to the state's economy.