Brownfield Orchard Spring Fruit Crop Update

Dated: April 25, 2024

Hello Dear Customers,

The weather of 2024 has presented our crops with some challenges already this season. The Arctic air mass that descended upon our state moved our temperatures from 44°F on January 9th to -9°F on January 13th! Over 48 hours were endured below 0° F. During my many years I don’t recall seeing a low below -5° in the Chelan area.

In early March we heard stories of this event affecting the peach and apricot fruit buds. We could see that some of ours were damaged, but we were hopeful that some bloom would emerge. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed. The peaches had no bloom and the apricots had very few. These side by side photos compare this year’s trees to how they normally look at full bloom. We will not have peaches or nectarines to sell this year, and the few apricots will be sold locally.

This Spring has generally been warm, and bloom has come nearly two weeks early. I was apprehensive that an April cold spell could strike at an inopportune time, and Mother Nature concurred. The low on April 17th was 27° F at a time when apple blooms were beginning to open. Some flowers were killed. Since then the temperature dropped below freezing for 5 out of 6 mornings in the orchard. Our cherries are on higher (warmer) ground, and their crop is looking good so far.

We’re saddened by the loss of our stone fruit crops. We’ll post an update in a couple of weeks once the fruit set is evident in our remaining crops. Thank you for your many years of supporting our farm. Some of you have been our customers for over 20 years!

Mike Brownfield

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The Co-op will still have plenty of organic peaches, nectarines, and apricots for you to enjoy the abundance of summer stone fruit. However, we wanted to share the news from Brownfield Orchard so you’re aware that we won’t be sourcing our stone fruit from them this year.