Weather wreaks havoc on Ontario’s apple crop
Weather wreaks havoc on Ontario’s apple crop
Consumers can expect fewer Ontario apples on the market this fall and it’s all due to unfavorable weather during this past growing season.
A spring frost the night of May 22-23 that affected many of the province’s apple-growing regions is responsible for much of the decline in this year’s apple crop, which is estimated to be down about 50 percent from normal years.
“Mother Nature was not kind to the apple industry in Ontario this year,” said Ontario Apple Growers Chair Charles Stevens, who farms near Newcastle, ON. “We lost almost half of our crop due to weather, so there will definitely be fewer locally grown apples available this year.”
Apple-growing regions in eastern Ontario, the north shore of Lake Erie, and the Niagara Peninsula were particularly affected by the spring frost, which was compounded by a very cold winter and a cool, wet month in June. The summer-like temperatures at the end of August and early September were also a challenge as apples need warm days and cool nights to ripen and take on color.
There are approximately 15 different varieties of apples grown on 15,000 acres in Ontario. The province’s major apple-producing areas are along the shores of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. The farm gate value of the Ontario apple crop is approximately $60 million, which includes sales to fresh and processing markets as well as on-farm and pick-your-own.
