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Amanda Hollabaugh from Hollabaugh Bros Inc in Biglerville said they were lucky their farm was not all on one low elevation.
“We definitely sustained a fair bit of damage as a result of that cold night,” said Hollabaugh. “The elevation was definitely a factor, as the lower parts of our farm suffered more heavily than higher elevations.”
“We lost a lot of plums and apricots, and we’ll likely see a fair bit of damage in peaches. On our higher elevations, we’re optimistic that the freeze just helped to “thin” our crop,” said Hollabaugh. “Apples were probably the least affected, but we are seeing damage there, too.”
Ben Wenk from Three Springs Fruit Farm in Aspers said damage was widespread on peaches and noticeable on apples. “The air was both cold and still, causing a convection,” said Wenk.
“But fruit growers don’t need to grow fruit on every blossom to have a full crop, said Wenk. “Each year, the crop is “thinned” down by maybe 60% in the case of apples and 80% in the case of peaches. While the cold won’t thin down the crop evenly when it kills buds or blossoms, an event that kills 50% of the blossoms could still produce a full crop.”
“In other words, we don’t know how bad it was just yet,” said Wenk..
“Time will tell,” said Hollabaugh.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.