Orchards hit hard by late frost
Rappahannock fruit growers could well look back on the 2025 season as among their least bountiful.
First it was the peach crop, with losses of up to 70%, victim of unusually warm temperatures in March, followed by a hard April freeze. Now, it’s apparent at harvest time that a similar fate has befallen apples throughout the region.
Bryant Lee of Lee’s Orchard in Washington said it’s been a tough year, noting he typically has seven varieties of apples this time of year, but has only three now. His Granny Smith crop as well as some of what he calls the oddball varieties were wiped out by the frost. The finish this year is also bad, he said.
“It’s been a really bad year for all apple growers, not just in Rappahannock County but in other areas especially Winchester which was hit hard,” Lee said.
“The apple harvest was significantly impacted by the late frost,” James Atwell of the Virginia Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services (VDACS) said. “Many early maturing varieties had losses greater than 50% and in some areas, closer to 75-90%.”
Less variety
Atwell said overall, Virginia production will probably be down by at least 40-50%. “The fresh market has been impacted the most with much more limited varieties available,” he said.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Virginia apple crop production has dropped 28%, from 230 million pounds in 2024 to 165 million pounds in 2025. The most current conditions show 67% of the apple crop is considered to be less than good.
Eddie Williams of Williams Orchard in Flint Hill said frosts in April aren’t unusual, but the one on April 9 was a problem since unusually warm temperatures in February and March caused the apples to bloom early. He said typically apples bloom the first of May, not the first of April.
Williams said a rough harvest occurs every 10-15 years and while the orchard has enough apples to run the packing shed, there aren’t enough to send to the canneries that process the fruit. He said typically the business runs out of apples in January but will likely run out the first of December.
Apples for sale at Lee’s Orchard in Washington, Va. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)
He said the decreased crop size is also compounded by the higher costs of living and decreased apple consumption.
“It used to be you’d have people come in trucks with a list, getting apples for their neighbors,” Williams said. “You don’t have that anymore. The world has totally changed and not for the better.”
Roughly 70% of the peach and apple orchard at F.T. Valley Farm in Sperryville was lost, according to Meredith Gilmore, market manager and sales and distribution director. The farm was unable to fulfill wholesale accounts this season and is instead focusing on its retail and pick-your-own operations, she said.
“We are providing apples to other immediate local businesses and organizations where we can, but it is very limited,” she said, adding that the fruit is also finishing much sooner than usual due to the weather.
Increasing costs
Woodbine Farms, a multi-generational farm located outside of Winchester, is harvesting 60% of its usual apple crop. Greta Brumback Liskey, the sixth generation of the Brumback family to work the orchards, said apple producers have also been hit with increasing costs for fertilizer, pesticides and fungicides. Higher than normal rainfall during the summer caused a need for more fungicides to keep apples from rotting and the trees healthy.
The market value of apples has decreased. According to the USDA, in 2022, Virginia apples were priced at 30.3 cents per pound. Last year, they were 27.9 cents per pound. This year’s value won’t be estimated until the crop has been sold, but it’s likely to be less.
“The United States began 2025 with a record number of apples in storage,” Liskey said. “With higher storage numbers leading into the 2025 harvest, there is not as much demand to purchase the apples which drives the price down. America has also seen a decrease in apple sauce consumption.”
Near Sperryville, Jenkins Orchards experienced a loss due to weather but Jesse Jenkins said the orchard still has fruit. “We don’t have a full crop and we lost some, but we’re still blessed to have nice apples,” he said, adding the pick-your-own crop is full of apples.
For a list of Virginia apple orchards, visit https://www.virginiaapples.net/orchards.
