Drastic temperature changes affected agriculture yields across the Okanagan this year, including an impact on apple crops. Initially, an early frost in November damaged some of the buds that were going to be fruiting for next year. Then, early heat in spring further pushed blossoms out.
Steve Brown, a grower with the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative: “We do everything in our control to try to control things. But of course, Mother Nature sometimes has other ideas, for sure. Definitely a lot of growers that are, I would say, down in the volume of yield this year as far as how much fruit they're pulling off their trees."
Brown expects his Gala apples to be down in yield by at least 40 per cent and Ambrosia to be down about 30 per cent. Further challenges come from what the farmers end up being paid for each fruit too.
Source: castanet.net