CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The peach crop in much of the Northeast was decimated by sub-zero temperatures in mid-February in what one fruit tree expert describes as the Valentine’s Day massacre of the peach blooms.
Fruit tree field specialists say New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts lost 90 percent or more of the peach crop.
John Rogers says he lost all 30 acres of his Connecticut peach crop and will likely have to buy peaches from the Deep South and California to offer his customers some product, albeit at a higher price.
The executive secretary of the National Peach Council says it’s too early to assess what effect the cold will have on the crop nationally.
California is by far the nation’s biggest producer, followed by South Carolina, Georgia and New Jersey.
