Ladders were up, and grapefruits and oranges were falling down. BC agriculture students picked oranges and grapefruits on campus Feb. 7-8 in an annual event.

“The pickings lasted for two days. We have mostly students and staff helping out,” said Bill Kelly, agriculture department chair.

The freeze over the break affected half of the oranges and grapefruits. The damaged oranges and grapefruits were mushy inside.

“We usually make anywhere from $300 to $500, but this year the pickings are free due to the cold weather,” said Kelly.

The department usually charges a small fee for each bag of fruit picked.

This year’s pickings were given to BC staff and students and anyone else who helped out.

“My mom is a teacher at BC, so I’m just out here helping out,” said 15-year-old D.J. Gonsolus.

The orange and grapefruit trees have been around for quite a while. “We have 90 trees on the farm. They were planted in 1975, so we have been doing this for a long time,” said Kelly.

Nearly all of the oranges and grapefruits were picked by BC agriculture students.

“I’m out here helping out my class. We picked around 500 oranges and grapefruits. It’s about as fun as picking oranges and grapefruits,” said forestry major Justin Degreare.