Drought Means No Apple-Picking At One Rhode Island Orchard
CUMBERLAND, R.I. (CBS) – Mother Nature is throwing a curve ball at farmers and orchards throughout New England.
The weather is having an especially big effect on one 12-acre orchard in northern Rhode Island.
Read: Mass. Apple Crop Could Be 20% Below Average This Fall
There will be no pick-your-own apples at Phantom Farms in Cumberland this year. That's because the mild winter and severe summer drought has wrought havoc on the crops, causing an 80 percent loss.
"With the severe drought, what's happening is apples are just dropping a lot faster than they would have," farm owner Kerry Stenovitch said.
But the farm stand and bakery, featuring homemade pies, will remain open this fall.
"Definitely won't be probably as busy, but luckily we have a lot of things here," Stenovitch said. "Our bakery and our café keep people coming through our door."
Stenovitch added the farm might apply for federal aid now that the government is declaring some drought-affected locations to be disaster areas.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports: