Canvas bags arrived empty but left full at the Scranton’s Co-op Farmers Market. Around noon on a fall Wednesday, the parking lot began to fill. Kids begged for homemade pies while retirees picked up their weekly produce.
The crunch of an apple, the mess of a peach and the stain of a cherry this year did not survive solely through the hard work of farmers. Helicopters, luck and government assistance helped save some farmers from the effects of drastic temperature changes in the spring.
But those without modern innovation — or luck — suffered nearly complete crop loss, or less fruit to pick.
Farmer Logan Brace held two apples in his hands at the market. One had a deep red color and the other was light red with touches of green and faint white lines on it. Both had the flavor but one was a victim of the frost, while the other got by without a scratch.
It might not be obvious what’s wrong, but the uglier one sits in a box below the sellable apples. Those affected by the frost will be used for applesauce.
As people head to area apple orchards this season, the president of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania emphasizes that even if the apples aren’t as pretty as customers are normally used to, the fruit is still as delicious.
What happened?
A three-day window shook the farming community this spring. On April 8 and 9, there was a freeze, which isn't unprecedented for growers, but this one was odd and unsettling for the entire state.
In the middle of the month, the temperatures then jumped to high 80s and low 90s, pushing crops out quicker. The crops become tender and juicy, but extremely vulnerable.
“All these different crops were hit in the same year,” Sarah Zost, the president of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania, said in reference to the losses of cherries, peaches, nectarines, grapes and apples. “That’s unprecedented.”
Farmers prepare for instances like these with strategies on how to keep their crops from freezing. But the unpredictability of the weather is what makes farmers across the state uneasy.
On April 19-21, the temperatures dropped into the low teens, and in some regions, to single-digit numbers.
Along with serving as president of the horticultural association, Zost is a farmer herself at Bonnie Brae Fruit Farms in Adams County.
“Apple growers have had upset stomachs all year,” she said.
Farmers are reliant on the income from June’s plump cherries, July and August’s juicy nectarines and peaches, and September and October’s apples.
Hovering helicopters
Farmers are creative. From location of planting the crop to careful strategizing of when to plant, they’re skilled in adaptation.
Helicopters were hugely helpful for farmers across the state. A hovering helicopter can raise the temperature, which might feel frigid to the average person, but “those two degrees make a massive difference,” Zost said.
For some farmers, access to a helicopter meant they were able to protect the majority of their crop, including at Heller’s Orchards in Wapwallopen.
However, Chuck Gould from Gould’s Produce in Brodheadsville wasn't as lucky.
“Just all of the things that we have to prevent against freezing just don’t work in those kinds of temperatures,” he said in May, at an event where U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins signed a disaster declaration to help farmers.
At Gulick's Fruit Farm in Bangor, Northampton County, an apple shortage means there aren't enough apples to make cider this year, according to the farm's Facebook page.
Brace, from Brace’s Orchard located in Luzerne County, identifies himself as one of the lucky ones. If he didn’t have access to a helicopter, he would have hardly any crop left, he said.
Government assistance
The initial number of counties affected by the freeze was 17, but it now sits at 62 counties, Zost said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sent a letter to the USDA in early May, asking for the disaster declaration. The declaration signed by Rollins later that month meant that farmers qualified for low-interest loans.
On Aug. 24, Shapiro secured $10 million to generate a grant program for affected farmers across the state from the April cold snap.
In a statement, he acknowledged the grants won’t account for all the losses, but “they’re a step in the right direction” and he will “continue to fight to ensure they stay afloat.”
Zost says the aid will go a long way to cover that gap, but she hopes for federal aid eventually.
“That beautiful, bountiful crop we know is coming,” she said.
Finding luck
The farming community has been hit time and time again with massive land losses, increase in prices for materials, weather changes and many more.
“Maybe they’re lucky if they get out,” Brace said, joking.
He still identifies himself as one of the lucky ones, even if his hours are stretched thin. He manages to look on the bright side.
“Every few years we get something crazy,” he said. “We just move forward and see what next year brings.”
Location of the crops also played a role in how crops survived. Zost explains the higher on a hill the crop is located, the higher chance of survival. As the crop is declining in altitude, so is the production.
“You can see it. The ones on the top of the hill are full and bountiful. As you slowly move down the hill it's less and less full,” she describes.
The west suffered a lot less damage than eastern regions, leaving the affected farmers scrambling to make hard and tough decisions.
Zost encourages Pennsylvanians to support local farmers because “every dollar counts,” right now.
“We’re eternal optimists. Hopefully, everything will be better next year.” she said.
Where to pick apples
Area orchards include:
Carbon County
Spring Mountain Farms, Lehighton
Columbia County
OHF Orchards, Bloomsburg
Lackawanna County
Lakeland Orchard & Cidery, Scott Twp.
Luzerne County
Brace’s Orchard, Dallas
Monroe County
Gould’s Produce and Farm Market, Brodheadsville
Northampton County
Gulick’s Fruit Farm, Bangor
Susquehanna County
Russell Farms, Brackney
Area markets include:
Lackawanna County
Co-Op Farmer’s Market Scranton
Miller’s Orchards Farm Market, Scott Twp.
Ritter’s Cider Mill, Jefferson Twp.
Luzerne County
Heller Orchards, Wapwallopen
Kilheeny’s Orchard, Mountain Top
Maylath Farm & Orchard, Sugarloaf
Monroe County
Heckman Orchards – Effort
Klingel’s Farm, Saylorsburg
Schuylkill County
Jersey Acres Farms & Stone Mountain Wine Cellars, Pine Grove
Kenny Stehr and Sons Farm, Pitman
Wayne County
Klim’s Orchard, Lake Ariel
Ostrander’s Orchard, Beach Lake
Wyoming County
Grassy Ridge Farms, Noxen
