US peaches expected to be cheaper this year
“For peaches (in Highland) and the Hudson Valley, and, from what I hear, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the crop looks good,” said Dan Donohue, a tree fruit specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
This is a stark contrast from this time last year, when a cold snap that’s since been dubbed “the Valentine’s Day massacre” plunged temperatures to below zero, killing off huge swathes of peach flower buds in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
But fortunes seem to be reversing this year, with 45 percent of New York peaches already in full bloom this week. That's just shy of the five-year, 48 percent average for March 14, but far higher than the 32 percent reported this time last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In New Jersey, 62 percent of peaches are in bloom this week, compared to 13 percent last year, and Pennsylvania’s crop is showing strong signs as well.
“If those states have a good crop,” Kalhke said, “our prices will be lower, too.”
source: timesunion.com
