In a typical year, NoVA-area apple picking is a staple fall family activity. But many Virginia farms have had to cancel their pick-your-own apple operations after an unseasonable spring frost hit crops hard.
Levi Snapp, an owner of West Oaks Farm & Market in Winchester, says his family’s farm was one of those impacted. It started with a few warm days in February and March. “It basically told the trees that were in more of a dormant stage to come out of dormancy, and that it’s springtime,” he says.
So when temperatures dropped below freezing again in April, the temperature killed most or all of the blossoms from the trees.
“The tree is still alive, and it’s OK until the following year. But all of that beginning stages for fruit production froze and died for this year,” Snapp says. He estimates that West Oaks lost about 95% of its apple crop.
Farms Face Major Losses
They weren’t alone. An April report from the Virginia Cooperative Extension, written by Virginia Tech associate professor Sherif M. Sherif, said “The level of damage we are seeing is unlike anything I’ve observed in apples over the past eight years at Virginia Tech. … Unfortunately, we are looking at a near-complete crop loss in apples in [the Winchester] area.”
Gov. Abigail Spanberger addressed the issue in a news release over the spring as well. She reported that farms across Virginia were expected to lose around $32.4 million to $105.3 million. Damage varied by region and elevation.
“My dad and many other orchardists in our area are in their 60s … and many of them have never seen a freeze this impactful in their lifetimes, or even heard of one in the apple industry,” Snapp said.
For West Oaks, the crop loss impacted both their farm market operations and their ability to sell apples to national corporations that process the apples to make products like baby food. He says that, while crop insurance helps, it doesn’t make up for the full loss of revenue from a freeze like this.
Fall Fun Continues (But Pick-Your-Own Is Limited)
Strapp says the farm had to cancel its pick-your-own apples this season because of the damaged crop. And many other farms that typically offer the activity did the same.
Marker-Miller Orchards, also in Winchester, was another farm that wasn’t able to offer apple picking. Instead, it’s offering pre-picked apples in the farm market and placing apples in bins throughout the orchard for guests to purchase. Stribling Orchard in Markham also had to cancel its PYO, but is offering pre-picked apples.
Because damage varied by region, some farms have been able to continue offering PYO, such as Great Country Farms in Bluemont.
Even without apple picking, many farms are still offering fun fall activities. West Oaks, for example, has a corn maze, hayrides, and pumpkin picking.
“Even though we’re going to have a smaller apple crop this year, really make that extra effort to purchase locally. Buy an extra pumpkin, go through a corn maze — things like that that are going to support these family farms like ourselves in these times where things are just kind of strange and challenging,” Snapp says.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
