Some farmers are reporting total losses, while others estimate about 70% to 90% of their crops won’t make it.
By: Katie Knol, WITF
At Hollabaugh Bros. farm in Adams County, there wasn’t much they could do about the late freeze in April.
State officials visited Cherry Hill Orchards in Lancaster County on May 8, 2026,
calling for federal aid following a damaging April crop freeze. (Photo from PACast)
They have about 500 acres to care for, and the cold temperatures were going to last for several days, so temporary heating options weren’t feasible.
Ellie Hollabaugh Vranich, retail market manager and assistant business manager of Hollabaugh Bros., said they had a total loss of their apricot crop, and plums were heavily affected, but they’re optimistic they’ll have a partial crop of apples and peaches.
Some farmers are reporting total losses, while others estimate about 70% to 90% of their crops won’t make it. Penn State Extension said specialty crop losses are estimated at $200 million in the state.
However, there are still many unknowns. Vranich said they’re losing more fruit to the “June drop,” which typically happens during the first two weeks of June when trees drop some fruit to put energy toward developing what remains.
She said they’re counting on other revenue sources this season.
“We’re certainly anticipating leaning more heavily into some of those support aspects of our business that we hope we can remain competitive with, even where we might not have the same level of fruit that we would normally have in a given year,” Vranich said.
Hollabaugh Bros. has a retail store with a bakery, and they also rely on in-house events and pick-your-own food activities. This will help bring in some money even if the crop isn’t as strong as in previous years.
Farmers still have to care for the land when there isn’t a good harvest. This can include mowing, fertilizing and trimming plants. These costs remain relatively consistent, though they’ve recently been increasing with higher labor and supply expenses.
Vranich said it’s especially important for people to support their local farms this year.
“Continuing to go out there and see what they do have, check out what new things they may be offering as a result of the fact that they don’t have as much of some of the fruits that they would normally have, this is going to be a year where every customer matters for all of us.”
Farms could also get financial support through the government. Vranich said they’re still waiting to see if funding will be made available in the Pennsylvania state budget, which is due June 30. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also designated several PA counties as natural disaster areas, so farms can get emergency loans.
Primary counties in this designation include Adams, Cumberland, Lackawanna, Montour and York. Contiguous counties also eligible are Columbia, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Northumberland, Perry, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming.
Miranda Harple, interim director for Penn State Extension’s Center for Plant Excellence, said fruit trees flower only once a year, so there’s only one shot for the blossoms to develop into fruit.
She said it’s still early in the season, so many growers are waiting for the fruit to develop further before determining how much the frost damaged their yield.
The cold also impacted different fruits and different varieties of the same fruit in varying ways, like Vranich said Hollabaugh Bros. experienced.
“This season, there will be fruit from your local farm, and right now, growers are working really hard to bring forward everything that they can with the conditions that they’re facing,” Harple said. “What’s going to reach your farm market or your farm stand this summer and the fall, that represents the effort and the care that growers have for their craft, and that’s an opportunity for your everyday consumer to acknowledge and reconnect with what local agriculture really means.”
