Some highlights (lowlights)

- Orchards have 30%-40% of their usual crop
- No 'Pick your own' because of the waste
- The apples are a couple weeks early this year. "People who are thinking October apples should be thinking September apples"

My favorite little orchard has this posted on their website: "We have a very reduced crop this year due to early March bloom followed by multiple freezes followed by a hot, droughty summer! We expect about about a 30% crop"

Locally the crop around La Crosse looks pretty normal other then the heat/drought. The freeze here wasn't as bad as other areas. I know my apples have been falling and are way early.

The crop in Michigan is a nightmare. I was reading that they have maybe 3 million bushels compared to 23 million.

Yesterday a local farmer lost over $100,000 worth of hay because some of the wet stuff combusted...nothing is going right this year for growers it would seem.

Frank, are your apples normal sized? The ones that I have are smaller than usual.

On the other hand I am seeing a few very nice local apricots, and the Flathead Lake cherry growing region had so much fruit (primarily Lapins, I think) that they suspended harvesting.

Tough business.

Might have to go the other way...try Oregon or Washington state. They seem to have had good weather this growing season.

>>and at least that on my one tree which yielded bushels last year but will be lucky to make a bushel this year.<<

That's pretty normal

"Apples: The United States apple production for the 2012 crop year is forecast
at 8.06 billion pounds, down 14 percent from 2011.

Production in the Western States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho,
Oregon, Utah, and Washington) is forecast at 6.21 billion pounds, up
6 percent from last year. Washington growers experienced a relatively normal
growing season, without losses from freezes or frost, and with good
pollination weather. Production in Oregon is up from last year, contrary to
the typical alternate bearing pattern.

Production in the Eastern States (Connecticut, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia) is forecast
at 1.60 billion pounds, down 31 percent from last year. New York producers
reported significant losses due to adverse weather conditions. A warm spring
season prompted trees to begin budding earlier than usual. Immediately
following the warm spell in March, multiple freezes in April damaged many of
the buds. In July, drought conditions hampered most of the remaining
production. In North Carolina, production is expected to be down
significantly from last year due to a late freeze, hail damage, and flooding.

Production in the Central States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) is forecast at
252 million pounds, a decrease of 79 percent from last year. The Michigan
crop was severely hampered by multiple significant frosts in April as well as
high temperatures and very dry conditions throughout the growing season. Ohio
production was greatly diminished this year due to a damaging frost during
bloom time.
"