Apple Orchards with No Apples
Have you been to an apple orchard this year?
Are you craving a cup of cider?
We have talked so many times about how apples and fall almost seem to go hand in hand. However, for Michigan, who is responsible for the third largest apple production in the United States, apples are scarce. All around Metro Detroit, apple orchards are having apples shipped in from the west side of the state.
According to The Detroit News, apple crops are down from 20 – 23 million bushels to 3 million bushels. Michigan has not had this poor of a crop loss since the 1940s. So, how did this happen? How could there be such a loss in apple production.
Why The Apples of Scarce
- A warm spring this year cause the trees to bloom early.
- Michigan’s somewhat unpredictable weather caused a frost in late April.
- The drought this summer made a bad situation even worse.
Michigan is only behind Washington and New York in apple production. Mills all over have reported losses of entire crops. One orchard has 25 acres of apples tress, yet only 5 survived. With a bad crop, the prices have seemed to sky rocket. Cider prices have jumped to 10-13 dollars a gallon.
Without apples and high prices for cider, local apple orchards are relying on other fall activities. Activities like corn mazes, U-pick pumpkins and petting zoos.
It seems that even with the lack of cider, the residents of Michigan are still looking for that nostalgic fall tradition. While there has been less attendance than usual, the Detroit News reports of a 23-year old Rochester Hills native who after purchasing cider saying that:
She has fond memories of visiting the mill as a kid.
Will the lack of apples keep you away from the apple orchards this year?
