Ontario’s apple and tender fruit growers are appreciative of the concern and support they are receiving from consumers, media and the provincial government as they assess unprecedented weather damage to this year’s crops.
Ontario Minister of Agriculture Ted McMeekin, , met with industry leaders May 10 while touring a Beamsville-area orchard to get a first-hand look at the widespread damage that has affected farmers across the province.
“We’d like to thank the minister for meeting with us today and personally viewing the extent of some of the damage,” says apple farmer Brian Gilroy, chairman of the Ontario Apple Growers. “The spin-off effects of this crisis will be felt far beyond the farm gate.”
The summer-like weather earlier this year brought blossoms early, leaving them vulnerable to recent frost and cold temperatures.
Frost damage resulted in some trees not bearing any fruit, and if they do, at much lower yields than normal. Some fruit will have visible damage.
Initial assessments indicate up to 80 per cent of the province’s apple crop has been affected, as well as an estimated 30 to 40 per cent loss in peach production and a virtually complete devastation of the cherry and plum crops.
