A lone peach grows on a tree at Seyfert Orchards in Lebanon, Pa.

Kelsey Newswanger packs peaches into a bag for a customer at Seyfert Orchards.

Seyfert Orchards in Lebanon County will still have plenty of peaches to sell in its farm stand thanks to supply from a grower in Adams County.

Peach trees at Seyfert Orchards stand empty of fruit after a late freeze hit Lebanon County.

A lone peach grows on a tree at Seyfert Orchards in Lebanon, Pa.

LEBANON, Pa. — How’s peach season going?

The answer is going to vary from “good” to “terrible” depending on what part of Pennsylvania the grower is from.

Dennis and Glenn Seyfert, of Seyfert Orchards in Lebanon, would unfortunately say the latter.

“We don’t have any peaches,” Glenn said.

A late freeze hit the Lebanon County orchard hard, which ended up with peach trees never blooming and producing hardly any peaches.

“Once in a while I see one here, one there,” Dennis said.

Daniel Weber, a Penn State Extension tree fruit specialist based in Adams County, said there seems to be a line drawn right around the Harrisburg area.

Growers to the south and west of the state capital seem to be doing all right, while growers to the north and east are struggling to find peaches on trees.

“In Pennsylvania, 10% of the people growing peaches say that the crop is very poor,” Weber said. “And by very poor, what they’re really saying is nonexistent.”

Peach trees at Seyfert Orchards stand empty of fruit after a late freeze hit Lebanon County.

Masonic Village Farm Market in Elizabethtown seems to have just fallen on the right side of the line.

“We’ll probably end up with 75% of the crop, which for this year is really good,” said Tad Kuntz, the orchard and farm market manager.

Weber said most orchards in Adams County, which is the heart of Pennsylvania’s fruit production, are doing well, with at least 80% of their peach crop.

This is a good sign for orchards like Seyfert that got the brunt of the freeze.

The Seyferts have been buying peaches from a grower in Adams County to sell at their farm stand, and they feel confident that they’ll have enough supply throughout the season to keep their customers happy.

“What we’ve got so far has been really nice, good quality,” Glenn said.

Seyfert Orchards in Lebanon County will still have plenty of peaches to sell in its farm stand thanks to supply from a grower in Adams County.

Kuntz has had requests from other growers to buy some peaches from Masonic Village, but he’s not sure how many he’ll be able to sell, saying that he’ll need to take care of his regular wholesalers first and then see what he still has available. He probably won’t be able to sell to every grower who has reached out.

“I don’t know. We’ll draw straws, I guess,” Kuntz said.

As peach season really heats up, Weber urges growers who still need peaches to try to nail down a supplier sooner rather than later.

“Try and secure that supply real quick,” Weber said. “It is peak season and people are wanting to buy now.”

Growers who are in the market to buy will probably have to spend a little more than in previous years.

Weber has seen half-bushels of peaches going for $30, and Kuntz has seen them going for as high as $50, which is double the prices he was seeing last year.

This is a nice perk for growers whose crops were relatively unaffected by the freeze, as they’ll be able to make a nice profit, but it’s an added struggle to growers searching for fruit to sell.

“You’re kind of caught between a rock and a hard place,” Weber said. “You may not be able to make a profit, but at least you’re not necessarily losing the season.”

The Seyferts said the price they paid was higher than they’ve paid for peaches in the past, but since their trees are practically empty, they’ve been able to save money on labor since they don’t need to spray as often or harvest any of the fruit.

Location will also affect whether pick-your-own operations will be successful this year.

Kuntz thinks his pick-your-own peaches, which begin the end of July and run through September, should hold out for the season, but he might need to limit the days when pick-your-own is available to let the fruit continue to ripen.

For growers who fall on the wrong side of the freeze line, pick-your-own won’t be an option this season.

“The further north you get, if you’re relying on pick-your-own, you’re probably out of luck this year,” Weber said. “That’s when you have to make it up by bringing in peaches you purchased at auction, so at least there’s some in the market that people can buy.”

With many orchards unable to offer pick-your-own peaches, Kuntz is preparing for a slightly increased crowd this year.

“My theory is, at this point, since there’s so many people that have such a light crop, I think our business is going to be a little higher than normal,” Kuntz said.

Kelsey Newswanger packs peaches into a bag for a customer at Seyfert Orchards.

So far, the number of shoppers at Seyfert Orchards has been typical, and the Seyfert brothers assure customers that they will have plenty of good quality peaches to offer at the stand.

Weber said that a freeze like the one that occurred this year would be covered under crop insurance, and he urges all growers to have a policy to prevent unforeseen weather from ruining an entire season.

Weber and growers agreed that if customers are looking for peaches, they’ll be able to find some, even if they aren’t grown at their typical orchard.

“My gut feeling is, if somebody needs peaches, they’re going to be available,” Weber said.

Penn State orchard researchers are developing strategies to automate apple production, and to protect trees and fruit from disease.

Fruit growers have developed ways to help workers on the H-2A visa feel comfortable and be productive on the farm.

Cooler late-March weather will probably spell a later start for strawberries this year, but growers remain optimistic for a good harvest overall.

When the thermometer nose-dived this week in the Mid-Atlantic, it put some crops at risk, especially tender strawberry blossoms or delicate peach buds as they begin to flower.

Stephanie Speicher is the social media editor at Lancaster Farming. She can be reached at sspeicher@lancasterfarming.com or 717-721-4457. Follow her on Twitter @Steph_Speicher.

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