07/24/2026
I thought this was a perfect way to explain why you don't see the same amount of fresh fruit at our stand and Markets..
If you’ve wondered why local peaches are scarce this summer, let us explain.
Back in early spring, we had several stretches of unusually warm weather. The peach trees did exactly what Mother Nature designed them to do—they woke up. The warmth convinced the trees it was time to bloom, so beautiful pink blossoms covered the orchard weeks earlier than normal.
Then came the cruel part.
Temperatures plunged well below freezing.
Those delicate blossoms—the ones that would have become peaches—were frozen and killed. And here’s something many people don’t realize: peach trees only get one chance each year. They don’t produce a second set of blossoms after a freeze. No blossoms means no peaches. The same heartbreaking story played out across apple, cherry, pear, and other fruit orchards throughout Pennsylvania, with many growers losing 70–90% of their crops, and some losing nearly everything.
(We estimate ours at 75%)
People often ask why local fruit costs more in years like this.
It’s because you’re not just buying the fruit...you have to add in the hours of pruning, spraying, mowing, fertilizing, and caring for trees. You’re buying the fuel, the labor, the sleepless nights, and the determination it takes to keep farming after losing most of your year’s income. And when a crop is this small, every peach has to help carry the weight of an entire season’s worth of expenses.
We know there are plenty of opinions about crop insurance. What we do know is this: no insurance check replaces a year’s work or a crop that never made it to harvest. Farmers don’t plant orchards hoping insurance will save them. They plant because they love what they do and because they’re committed to feeding their communities.
If you can, choose local.
Support the families who weather the storms, the frosts, the droughts, and the sleepless nights so they can do it all again next spring.
Because when farmers support farmers… entire communities benefit.❤️
