Why It Matters
A late-spring freeze in April has dealt a severe blow to Pennsylvania’s fruit farming industry, with growers across Central Pennsylvania losing significant portions — and in some cases all — of their annual harvests. Because fruit trees bloom only once each year, any damage during that critical window cannot be recovered in the same growing season.
What Happened
The freeze swept through the region in April, wiping out crops before many orchards had a chance to set fruit. Hollabaugh Bros., a roughly 500-acre operation in Adams County, suffered a complete loss of its apricot crop and heavy damage to its plums. The farm expects only a partial harvest of apples and peaches.
The scale of losses extends well beyond a single operation. Some growers across the state are reporting total crop failures, while others estimate losses ranging from 70 to 90 percent of their expected yields. Penn State Extension put the statewide toll on specialty crops at approximately $200 million.
State officials visited Cherry Hill Orchards in Lancaster County on May 8, 2026, and publicly called for federal assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture subsequently designated several Pennsylvania counties as natural disaster areas, making affected farms eligible for emergency loans.
By the Numbers
The USDA disaster designation covers five primary counties — Adams, Cumberland, Lackawanna, Montour, and York — along with a dozen contiguous counties including Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Northumberland, Perry, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming.
- $200 million — Penn State Extension’s estimate of specialty crop losses statewide
- 70%–90% — crop loss range reported by many affected growers
- 500 acres — size of Hollabaugh Bros. farm in Adams County
- 17 counties — total number of Pennsylvania counties covered under the USDA disaster designation
- First two weeks of June — window for the so-called “June drop,” a natural fruit thinning process expected to cause additional losses this season
Farmers Lean on Alternative Revenue
With fruit supplies expected to be thin through the summer and fall, growers like Hollabaugh Bros. are shifting focus to other parts of their business. The farm runs a retail store with a bakery and generates income through on-site events and pick-your-own activities.
Ellie Hollabaugh Vranich, speaking about the farm’s outlook, said they anticipate relying more heavily on those business lines. “We’re certainly anticipating leaning more heavily into some of those support aspects of our business that we hope we can remain competitive with, even where we might not have the same level of fruit that we would normally have in a given year,” she said.
She also encouraged the public to continue visiting local orchards, noting that farms will be doing what they can with whatever fruit they have. “This is going to be a year where every customer matters for all of us,” Vranich added.
Zoom Out
Late-spring freezes pose a recurring threat to fruit-growing regions across the eastern United States. When a freeze coincides with the bloom period, losses are particularly severe because the trees will not flower again until the following spring — meaning affected farmers face a full year without normal revenue from those crops. The $200 million estimate in Pennsylvania alone underscores the broader economic vulnerability of specialty agriculture to weather volatility.
Federal disaster loan programs through the USDA are designed to help bridge that gap, though the application process and loan timelines may not align with the immediate cash-flow needs many farms face heading into a shortened harvest season.
What’s Next
Growers in designated counties can begin applying for USDA emergency loans. At the state level, Pennsylvania’s budget deadline falls on June 30, and advocates may press lawmakers to address agricultural relief as part of those negotiations. In the meantime, farmers are watching the June drop period closely, as additional fruit loss during the first two weeks of the month could further reduce whatever partial yields remain from the freeze-damaged trees.