Apple growers in Kent County face devastating loss from late frost

Apple producer Ken Carrier has no trouble remembering the date in June when a late frost wreaked havoc on his crop.

"It happened at the worst time," the Kent County businessman said. "It happened right after bloom. We were in full bloom June 1st and 2nd and we had the frost on the 3rd."

Temperatures dropped to -4 C and -5 C in parts of the province, destroying the hopes of a lot of fruit growers, including strawberry and blueberry producers,for an abundant crop this year.

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Carrier knew the frost wasn't going to be good news for his apples, but he didn't know the extent of the damage then.

He purchased La Fleur du Pommier in Cocagne last year with two other business partners. He owns another apple orchard just down the road as well.

Both orchards suffered devastating losses,likely losing as much as 70 percent of their crops this year.

And it's the commercial part of the business that is going to suffer the most, Carrier said.

"A lot of our apples we store and sell at the latter part of the year. We still don't know if we get half the amount of bins or a quarter of our bins. We may have to sell our apples earlier."

It's just Mother Nature doing its regular thing.- EuclideBourgeois

The other big concern is the damage the frost may have done to the apple blossoms that survived. There a good chance the apples will have russeting a skin abnormality that puts a ring around the apple.

Although these apples can still be harvested and used, they have a lower value than the Grade A apples.

All of this has left Carrier and his partners trying to keep their operating costs to a minimum.

"We've certainly been more careful," he said. "We are operating with less people right now than normal. It's like with any business. If you're unsure of your revenue you have to control your costs. Labour is a big part of our costs here, obviously, but we will still need to hire pickers this fall."

Carrier said he's worried about what all of this is going to mean for his business's cash flow going into next year because it won't have as many apples to sell from this season.

Although he does have crop insurance at La Fleur du Pommier, there is none at his other orchard. He's been in contact with the provincial government and is hoping there may be some financial aid for apple growers, but the province has made no commitment.

The good news, Carrier said, is that the orchard will be open to the public as a U-pick this fall.

The challenges of running a farm

Euclide Bourgeois saidhe's never seen a late frost like the one this year.

"I think it has to do with the combination withvery hot days before the frost, but there's a lot of factors at play when you're playing with nature."

He was one of the original owners of La Fleur du Pommier and was in the apple business for over 40 years.

"I know the trees will not be hanging as heavily as they usually do," he said. "I think it's just Mother Nature doing its regular thing. I don't think it's in the cards for every farm to have a perfect crop every year."

And, he cautioned, if it's not frost, it can be hail or drought.

"It's always a challenge."

Carrier is up for that challenge. He left the corporate world two years ago to get into farming. Despite all of the problemshe's faced since making this career switch, he has no regrets about his decision.

"Entrepreneurship has its challenges. This just happens to be our challenge this year. Hopefully, it doesn't happen every year."