CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Unlike last year’s bumper crop for apples in New England, this year’s batch is a bit smaller for many farmers as they struggle with abnormally dry and drought conditions.
There are still enough apples to go around at most pick-your-own operations. But some farms are not offering that this year and are taking their apples directly to market. Even before the dry weather, higher-than-normal temperatures in February and March, followed by a cold spell in April, challenged the crop.
Lorraine Merrill, New Hampshire’s Commissioner of Agriculture, says fruit and vegetable growers have the capability to irrigate their crops and have kept a steady supply.
Northern New England farmers have fared better than those in the southern part of the region, because they received more rain.
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