Stay Informed

A late-spring freeze that included snow and several nights of temperatures in the 20s put Indiana’s 2021 orchard crops in jeopardy.

“I have photos of snow on peach blooms,” exclaimed Michael McKinley of McKinley Orchard and Restaurant in Knox County.

But when asked in early to mid-September about their crop prospects, spokespeople for five Indiana Farm Bureau member-owned orchards gave answers that ranged from “bad – though not as bad as it could have been” to “fantastic.”

For two southern Indiana orchards, 2021 has been outstanding. McKinley said that despite the snow that covered their blooming peach trees, “We had an unbelievable amount of fruit on our trees considering the weather. It was just almost freakish how many peaches we had,” he said. “Every crop – strawberries, blackberries – everything was a bumper crop for some reason.

“I don’t think it was anything we did – this was a higher power working somehow,” he added. “We couldn’t duplicate it if we tried.”

Huber’s Orchard, Winery & Vineyards in Clark County is also having a great year, said Lise Kruer, marketing director.

Last year, Huber’s had a late freeze that hurt the crop significantly, she said.

“Mother Nature has made up for it this year,” she added. “It’s been a little bit overwhelming.” Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and most apple varieties have done very well. In fact, she said Huber’s was able to make cider early this year because of the plentiful supply of apples.

“Peaches we had coming out of our ears,” she said. “They were just beautiful.”

It’s also an outstanding year for Kercher’s Sunrise Orchards in Elkhart County.

“It was a rough start, but our crop is gorgeous,” said Maureen Kercher. The trees had so many buds that even though many were lost, enough made it to produce excellent peach and apple crops, she explained.

“We really shouldn’t have a crop,” she added.

Another orchard owner who is pleasantly surprised by the size of his crop is Matt Chandler of Chandler’s Farm & Country Market in Putnam County. His early estimate is that Chandler’s will end up with perhaps 40% or 50% of its usual crop.

“It’s not a full crop by any means, but we didn’t think we’d have anything,” he said. “The fact that we’re picking now is amazing.”

For Ruth Ann Roney of Tuttle Orchards, though, the apple yields at her family’s Hancock County orchard definitely fall into the “bad” category.

“We have about a 10% crop,” she said, noting that it varies considerably depending on the variety. “This is agriculture, right?” Roney added. “You have years that are good and years that are not.”

In addition to apples and apple-related products such as cider and apple butter, Tuttles raises and sells a full range of produce and nursery stock, its farm store is open year-round, and it also boasts a café that is open year-round.

“Our blessing is that we are really diversified – it would be different if we only grew apples or sold only wholesale,” she said.