Some cherries were still growing in May at Highland Orchard in West Chester after Pennsylvania fruit farmers lost nearly $200 million in crops due to a late-April freeze that hit 13 states on the East Coast.
For the second time in five years, a freeze wiped out all of Morgantown farmer Ed Weaver’s peaches this spring.
What was an unassuming late April frost for most Pennsylvanians this year created devastation for farmers across the state. High temperatures at the beginning of the month accelerated orchards’ blooming process. But an ensuing sudden drop below freezing quickly killed what had grown. The freeze hit 13 states on the East Coast, costing Pennsylvania fruit farmers almost $200 million.
Along with the peaches, the cold decimated nectarines and cherries at Weaver’s Orchard in Berks County. Now, just 15% of the apples and pears there remain, and about half of the berries are gone. Weaver estimates the freeze caused him to lose between 70% and 80% of his orchard’s revenue this year.
Weaver is not alone. A surge in extreme weather has taken a toll on fruit farmers’ crops across the state, in an industry growing increasingly sparse from rising costs.
Weaver — who has overseen his family’s nearly-100-year-old business for four decades — said many farmers are starting to question whether losses from extreme weather are a new standard and are determining the best next steps to maintain stability.
“How do we move forward? How are we going to mitigate these risks? And is this a new type of normal for us?” he said.
Attempting to reclaim some of the lost money from the frozen crops, Weaver plans to apply for a Freeze Disaster Assistance Recovery Grant — a $10 million initiative approved last month in the Pennsylvania state budget to assist farmers who have lost 30% or more of their crops.