Fruit growers across Pennsylvania have experienced partial to total losses of their 2026 crops, due to unseasonably warm temperatures interspersed with devastating hard freezes this spring.
"This is the worst it's been in probably 40 years, maybe even longer," said Dan Weber, a commercial fruit tree educator at Penn State Extension. "It is a dire situation, and it's going to affect everybody, from the packing houses … into the processors."
Early estimates point to economic losses between $150 and $200 million for Pennsylvania's specialty crop industry, with predictions of nearly 100% losses for some fruit crops.
Weber has been traveling across the state visiting orchards, and he estimates that plum, sweet and tart cherry crops will see near-total losses. Peaches, he said, will vary more, with 70% to 90% crop loss. The state's biggest fruit crop, apples, may see losses in the 80% to 95% range.
Last month was the warmest April on record in the Pittsburgh region, with average temperatures almost 7 degrees higher than normal.
"During that very warm April, things were able to bloom early and the trees got going early," said Chris Leonard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But that unseasonably warm month was interspersed with blossom-killing hard freezes across the state.
The first hard freeze took place April 8, with temperatures plunging into the low 20s across the state. Weber says growers saw steep losses after that first freeze, but took precautions to preserve what remained of their crops. Then a second hard freeze hit on April 21.
""That second wave pretty much knocked everything out," Weber said.
The one fruit that weathered the cold was pears, Weber noted. Pear trees had already set fruit when the freezes hit and were able to tolerate the cold. But though the fruit made it through, they are marred with a "frost ring" — a layer of damaged tissue on the skin that gives the fruit a russeted, or rough, appearance.
"A lot of people find it unpalatable or unsightly, even though it doesn't affect the flavor," Weber said. But it means that farmers won't be able to sell their pears for a premium price. "So even those who had pears that made it through, they're gonna be suffering a loss of profit because they can't sell it for what they would normally expect."
Soergel Orchards in Allegheny and Butler Counties was one of the many farms that saw its blossoms freeze and drop from their branches before they could bear fruit. The family farm was founded in 1850, and sixth-generation farmer Adam Voll is still tending Soergel's 450 acres.
Voll says the April 21 freeze was a worst-case scenario.
"We were basically in the most vulnerable spot there could be," Voll said. "We were pretty much in full bloom."
Temperatures plunged to 25 degrees overnight at the Butler County Airport weather station. Voll believes some of Soergel's orchards, which are in several locations across Allegheny and Butler counties, may have seen even lower temperatures.
"On stone fruit, it's pretty much totally gone for us in their area," Voll said. "We won't have really any of our own peaches or cherries this year."
He says he's forecasting the apple crop will fare a bit better. It's hard to diagnose at this point because there are apples on the trees, and they appear to be growing well.
"But whenever you cut some of them open, you actually find the seed cavity is brown. It was frozen, so it's not producing seeds. The tree tends to abort that fruit. Some of them are already dropping off now," Voll said.
Soergel Orchards expects to have a better idea of where the crop stands in June, but Voll's current forecast is that they will see 50% of their crop, though some apple tree varieties may only bear 10% of what the farm expected.
Last week, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins, urging the federal government to provide disaster assistance for affected farmers, including expedited damage assessments that will help growers file crop insurance claims.
Voll said he has seen total crop losses in the past, and feels lucky that Soergel is diversified, with many other vegetable and fruit crops. But he has already lost two plantings of sweet corn to the variable weather.
"To have fruit and then some of our starting vegetables all take a hit in one year? That's not normal," Voll said.
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