Drought brings changes for fall apple crop

By Lorin Richardson

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    HARTFORD, Connecticut (WFSB) — It’s the sweetest time of year for apple picking. However, with this year’s drought, apple pickers might see a change in their apples.

Lyman Orchards says apple crops are smaller, but sweeter this year.

John Lyman, the executive Vice President of Lyman Orchards, says that the business has been in his family for 281 years. They grow 100 acres of apples, over 30,000 trees, and 27 varieties.

Lyman says he is grateful for some of the rain showers we received in August and of course some of that heavier rainfall early September. That has really helped and they’re doing well. Apples need adequate moisture, sunlight, and nutrients from the soil to grow.

Lyman says that inflation has also impacted the cost of apples.

“Certainly, our input costs are up. Every business has been dealing with that of course. That’s kind of driven by the fuel costs so everyone is feeling it in their pocketbook and we’re certainly feeling it in our production costs. Our packaging and everything is going up, and we’re seeing some shortages. They’re not as bad as they were a year ago,” says Lyman.

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