Henderson County farmers worry cold snap will damage apple crop
HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Apple farmers in Henderson County are concerned about the potential for significant crop loss in the coming days from the forecasted cold weather.
“We’re talking about some really, really potentially damaging temperatures right now,” said Terry Kelley, director for the Henderson County Cooperative Extension Service.
It’s a daunting prospect for the farmers and the $31 million industry in Henderson County.
“With five or six hours below freezing, that’s just a recipe for a nightmare,” Henderson County apple farmer Kenny Barnwell said.
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Barnwell said the cold is concerning because some of his apple varieties have pink buds, meaning they’re more susceptible to the cold.
He said the recent warm weather has made the apple crops grow faster. If that hadn’t happened, the buds might have been more resilient.
Kelley said not all apple varieties are far enough along for there to be major concerns.
However, he said there are varieties, like Barnwell said, in the pre and full pink.
If it gets to 28 degrees, for those varieties, there’s a chance 10% of the crop could be wiped out. If it gets down to 25 or 24 degrees, there’s a risk of losing 90%.
“If it gets 24 and windy, we’ll have damage. If on Saturday morning it gets 25 and there's a big frost, it will decimate the crop,” Barnwell said.
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Barnwell said there’s not much farmers can do except wait and see.
He said it reminds him of the 2008 freeze.
“It’s set up the same way,” he said . "We lost our apples. I lost 90% of my crop on Easter morning that year.”
Barnwell said he hopes it doesn’t get that cold.
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