BOYERTOWN PA – Steve Frecon, the president of Boyertown-based Frecon Farms and the face of the third generation at one of the region’s well-respected fruit growers, calls what’s happened “a disaster.”
By Lex Flamm, for The FruitGuys of San Bruno CA
Republished with editing by Travels With The Post
Frecon awoke on the morning of April 22 (2026; Wednesday), and found the overnight temperature had dropped to as low as 20 degrees in some parts of his orchard. It was the second such cold snap in three weeks. The plunging cold froze the flowers and young fruits on his peach, plum, apple, and cherry trees.
Substantial portions of every crop were destroyed. He lost all of his cherries and plums, and half of his peach crop. The only reason he didn’t lose more peaches, he says, is because he farms on steep slopes. The hills kept the cold air moving, and saved fruit at higher elevations.
“Around the elevation of 500 feet and above, we have fruit. Below, we have minimal fruit. Down in the 400-foot range, in our acres of peaches and even some acres of apples, there’s just no fruit at all,” he reports. “My dad said that in the 80 years he’s been farming this farm, he’s never seen anything like this,” Frecon adds.
All photos provided by The FruitGuys
Frecon Farms Isn’t Alone
The cold weather caused damage across a wide swath of the East Coast and even into the Midwest and South. Farmers in 13 states faced “catastrophic damage,” according to a bulletin from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency. There may be more to come, Frecon suggests.
It’s possible, he says, that the true toll the freeze took on his apple orchards won’t be known until sometime later. If the cold snap damaged the sexual organs inside the flowers and young fruits, the trees could still reject them.
“The fruit tree will recognize that fruit with no seeds inside is not viable and have the natural response, which is to abort that fruit and throw it off in the month of June,” Frecon notes. “I’m nervous that a lot of the fruit we still see in the orchard may be aborted.”
Behind The Crop Damage
Back-to-back cold snaps were devastating, but they were also normal. Below-freezing temperatures aren’t unusual during spring in Pennsylvania. What was unusual was the hot weather that came in March, before the freezes.
On Frecon’s farm 90-degree temperatures woke up the trees, and pushed them to bloom and set fruit way ahead of schedule.
“Everyone was looking around and saying, ‘This is so nice, these nice warm temperatures!’ But those of us in the fruit business were going, ‘This is setting us up for catastrophe’ … and that’s exactly what happened,” Frecon recalls.
Closed buds could have survived the 20-degree temperatures. The flowers and fruit didn’t stand a chance. The roller coaster of heat-then-cold was like a one-two punch.
Affecting Your Grocery List
If you live on the East Coast, odds are you’re seeing fewer local berries and stone fruits for sale this summer. Local farmers may have small crops, or no crop at all. Frecon also reports you may see more fruits with cosmetic imperfections — like a smaller size, or frost ring — because that’s all farmers may have to sell.
Without a strong crop of local fruit, grocery stores will likely turn to fruits from other parts of the country – possibly California and Washington – or to imported items. Lower supplies could also drive up prices. Frecon says he expects the pricing ripples to last into next year.
“With a lighter crop, there’s going to be less availability of apples into the spring of 2027. So the duration of the impact is fairly long,” he adds.
Affecting East Coast Fruit Farmers
The lack of fruit may disappoint shoppers of farm goods, but it’s much worse for farmers themselves. Growers are always at the mercy of the weather.
They can take preventive steps to protect themselves from losses. They include overcropping, the practice of leaving more fruits on the tree than they ultimately need; spraying crops with water before freezes; and even lighting fires in their orchards on cold nights.
Those methods, though, aren’t always enough to protect against April’s level of disaster.
A Safety Net (of Sorts): Crop Insurance
Crop insurance is another type of safety net. Frecon carries catastrophic risk protection for his peaches, and additional coverage for his apples.
This may be the first year he needs the catastrophic policy, which only kicks in if he loses more than 50% of his crop. He feels lucky that he can afford expensive premiums that many small farms can’t.
However, Frecon observes that the insurance isn’t full, or speedy, compensation. “It’s not like auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance where you get a full replacement of what you lost,” he explained. “It’s just barely enough to keep you alive until next year.”
It’s also slow to pay out. To accurately assess the damage, the insurance company needs to wait until the harvest is over, then assess its size and quality. Frecon estimates he won’t see a check until February 2027 at the earliest.
In the meantime, his income will drop without cherries, plums, and peaches to sell. He’ll also likely need to spend more money than usual to care for his damaged trees, and have workers hand-thin remaining crops.
Government Assistance Falls Short
On May 26, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins signed a disaster declaration for 17 Pennsylvania counties. The action was “a first step forward to help agricultural producers access emergency loans and programs in the aftermath of freezing temperatures,” she says in a media release.
However, Berks County – where Frecon Farms is located – didn’t make the initial list. Frecon hopes that will change soon.
“We’re hoping the federal and state governments will step in to help industry in this time of need,” he said. “If they don’t, there’s going to be a lot of farm default.
“Most farmers run themselves out of money by mid-summer. When crops start coming in mid-summer, they begin to recoup some of what they’ve invested for the year. Without those crops coming, they have a financial disaster on their hands.”
The best way to help local farmers is to buy fruit directly from them, even if it’s smaller than usual or has cosmetic imperfections. Local shoppers’ support could be the difference between favorite farms going out of business … or making it to harvest another year.
Supportive shoppers also can order products from businesses that back their growers’ operations through good times and bad.
About The Author
This article was written by Lex Flamm, content marketing specialist for The FruitGuys, a California-based company that specializes in office deliveries of farm-fresh fruit and snacks. It was edited by Travels With The Post before re-publishing. Steve Frecon was among growers across the country who were named as The FruitGuys’ “Farmers of the Month” during 2024. The company in 2012 also opened The FruitGuys Community Fund, a non-profit that provides financial support to small farms.
Our local reporting includes news about businesses and commercial ventures within, or that affect residents of, Montgomery, Berks, and Chester PA counties. Find more business articles here.
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