2026 TREE FRUIT REPORT

Your Local Farmers Need You More Than Ever This Season

If you've spent any time at our markets, you know the difference between a peach from a farm forty miles away and one from a supermarket a thousand miles away. 

You know it when you bite into it.

This year, a lot of our local growers won't have that peach to offer you. We've been hearing it at the markets too — customers asking where the stone fruit is, why the tables look different than last summer. Here's the answer, and why it matters.

What Happened

This spring, farmers across Pennsylvania and South Jersey experienced one of the most catastrophic growing seasons in at least four decades. Unseasonably warm weather pushed trees into early bloom — then hard freezes on April 8 and April 21 wiped out what had already blossomed. Pennsylvania alone is looking at 70–90% losses on apples, 90–100% on peaches and apricots, and 95–100% on cherries and plums, with total damage estimated between $150 and $200 million. In South Jersey, Heilig Orchards in Mullica Hill lost 200 acres of peaches, and Rowand's Farm in Glassboro — a third-generation operation — had its entire cherry crop destroyed overnight. Both states have declared agricultural emergencies.

These are family farms with fixed costs. The bills don't take a season off.

“Farmers Face Catastrophic Losses.” https://www.psu.edu/.../pennsylvania-fruit-growers-face...

“We Need the Support.” https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/.../farmers.../4408999/

PA Growers Face up to 100% Loss: https://www.freshfruitportal.com/.../03/pennsylvania-freeze/

What's Still Coming

Your farmers are still showing up. The crops that go in the ground after frost danger passes — corn, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, zucchini, beans, herbs — are coming. Summer at the market is going to be full and alive. But the missing peaches and cherries are real, and the financial hole is real.

As market operators, we have encouraged the fruit growers at our markets to supplement the missing fruit from either local sources and -- when those sources run out -- from regions that would not be considered local.

Every purchase you make this summer is a direct investment in whether these farms make it to next year. Come to the market. Bring someone new. Ask your vendor how their season is going.

These farmers showed up for us year after year. This is the year we show up for them!

Email Jon at jon@egreenevents.com or Ben at ben@egreenevents.com for more information.