SHOREHAM, Vt. (WCAX) – Could recent drought conditions leave apple farmers out to dry? Local experts say there could be fewer apples to whet your appetite this fall.
This season has taken Vermont’s apple growers for a ride, with lots of moisture this spring that gave way to drought this summer. The final product: fewer fruits of their labor.
This year took extra elbow grease and water for Bill Suhr to grow his apples at Champlain Orchards in Shoreham.
“Last year, an inch every week was perfect. We only irrigated during two different weeks. This year, every day we’re watering,” Suhr said.
Suhr has a 7-million-gallon reservoir, but only recently invested in an irrigation system to get it to the trees. Now, he’s hoping it’s enough to boost growth before picking is in full swing.
“There are certain blocks that we haven’t irrigated up until now, because we hadn’t had enough water,” Suhr said.
Over at the University of Vermont Horticulture Research and Education Center, director Terence Bradshaw says he’s gotten more calls this summer from growers considering irrigation.
“Probably every grower should be thinking about that anyway, especially since we’re falling into patterns where we literally have too much water and too little water in the same season,” Bradshaw said.
He says that this year’s soggy, cloudy spring led to less pollination, which set growers on a path toward a smaller crop. Combined with drought, he estimates Vermont’s apple harvest could be down 25% this fall.
If you’re hoping to pick, Bradshaw suggests going sooner rather than later.
“What might happen is your growers basically might run out of fruit a little bit earlier… Now is the time to get out there and start hitting the orchards,” he said.
In Shoreham, Suhr hopes the smaller crop doesn’t take too big a bite out of his earnings.
Reporter Sophia Thomas: Are you worried about losing any money this year?
Bill Suhr: Absolutely, absolutely. I think we picked 180,000 bushels last year. This year, I would think that we’ll be under 150,000 bushels. So there’s a 30,000 bushel loss, even though we’ve been planting new orchards.
The season comes on the heels of a fantastic picking season last year and the historic frost that devastated orchards in 2023.
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