Overview
- Gov. Josh Shapiro and Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited Lancaster County on Friday to back a USDA disaster declaration and to propose shifting part of a $75 million avian‑flu fund to fruit growers.
- State officials and growers estimate $150 million to $200 million in losses, with some orchards reporting no harvest this year; Cherry Hill Orchards says apple income will not return until next fall.
- An early heat surge primed trees to bloom, then an April 20–21 freeze hit some areas as low as 24 degrees, which killed blossoms and left branches bare across the Susquehanna Valley.
- The losses threaten pick‑your‑own seasons, winery supplies, farm jobs, and donations to local food banks, and shoppers could see fewer local peaches and apples and higher prices later this summer.
- Redding called the damage the worst in decades and farmers likened it to the 2000 plum pox crisis, as Pennsylvania and federal partners work to define aid timing and amounts.