Heat, heavy rain impacts fall crops

EFFORT, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The sun rises over Heckman Orchards in an Effort Thursday, shining down onto its field of crops.

The weather is currently at ease, but that hasn’t been the case the whole summer.

“It started off with some really warm, hot days, a limited amount of rain. We were getting just enough to get by and able to irrigate what mother nature wasn’t giving us, and then last week we got hit with a pile of rain.”

Amber Borger says their biggest challenge were those dry heat spells as irrigation is not as simple as it looks.

“It takes a lot of time and energy to get things moved to where they need to be and make sure things are being watered properly.”

She says despite the high heat since spring.. They’re fortunate mother nature’s curveballs haven’t caused damage to crops like peaches and apples – something they couldn’t say in previous years.

“This past couple of springs have been really rough for us with the frost, but we were lucky this year, we didn’t have any frost.”

Doing the opposite, the warmer temps have pushed up seasons. Meaning some apples will be available in-store within the next two weeks.

Even though the apples will be available earlier than usual, the farm doesn’t start making its delicious apple cider until after Labor Day.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com.