NH Fruit Growers in the News
Fresh Plaza- December 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — These are some of the questions that have guided a three-year study conducted by Extension specialist Jeremy DeLisle alongside farmers Chuck and Diane Souther at Apple Hill Farm in Concord. Longtime farmers, the Southers operate a pick-your-own business (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black currants, and apples) and a farm stand that sells a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
MAC- November 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — The 2024 holiday season is in full swing, and what better way to celebrate than filling your kitchen with the warm, inviting aroma of New Hampshire fruit? While we all love classic apple pies and crumbles, there are endless ways to make tree fruits the star of your holiday spread.
MAC- October 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — The 2024 apple season has been a tremendous success, with growers across the state reporting bountiful crops and exceptional quality. Despite the challenges that can arise in agriculture, this year’s weather has played in favor of the state’s apple orchards, contributing to a fruitful harvest that extends into November.
MAC- August 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — New Hampshire peach harvest occurs in late August and early September. Peaches have come early this year and in abundance. Lorna Hazelton from Hazelton Orchards said “After last season’s complete loss of our peaches we are excited for a plentiful crop this year. We started picking about a week early and with a lot of watering, they are really sizing up nicely now. I’m not sure who’s more excited about seeing peaches; us or our customers.”
MAC- July 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — Plums are making a major comeback this year. Last year, a cold snap wiped out almost the entire crop across New Hampshire, leaving the state without the tart sweet-sour taste many enjoy. The cold snap affected many growers, not just those who grow plums.
Concord Monitor- July 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — Farmers famously see the glass as half empty because nature always pulls a fast one on them, but something unusual can be heard in New Hampshire this year: Agricultural optimism. “The weather has been cooperating, and we haven’t had any major weather events,” said Madison Hardy, president of the New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association. “Everybody’s feeling positive.”
NHPR- June 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — Last year, extreme temperature swings wiped out entire apple and peach crops across New Hampshire. This spring and early summer things are looking different. “There are enough apples that growers are currently having to thin their apples so more fruit on the trees than we need for a full crop,” said Jeremy Delisle, a field specialist for the University of New Hampshire’s Cooperative Extension.
MAC- May 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — The fruit-growing season has arrived in New Hampshire! As the temperatures warm and the calendar turns towards summer, fruit growers across the state are tending to their trees to grow delicious, locally-grown cherries. For some New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association (NHFGA) members, cherries are the first fruit crop of the year.
MAC- April 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — The University of New Hampshire Extension will be offering Twilight Meetings once again this growing season! These monthly meetings provide a space for tree fruit farmers to gather and learn more about a range of agricultural topics such as growing techniques, research updates, farm business, pest management, and much more.
MAC- March 2024
HOLLIS, N.H. — The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food’s Crop Loss Program recently opened to receive applications from New Hampshire producers. The Crop Loss Program allocates $8 million to help farmers who suffered crop losses because of weather-related damages in 2023.
MAC- December 2023
HOLLIS, N.H. — Fruit growers in New Hampshire faced a challenging year as weather anomalies harmed trees and damaged fruit crops throughout the state. Despite these hardships growers pressed on and made the best of a difficult year. New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association (NHFGA) president Madison Hardy recently shared about the season.
WMUR – December 2023
MANCHESTER, N.H. — There is hope for a rebound in 2024 after a challenging year for fruit growers in New Hampshire, most notably for some apple orchards that lost their crops. The Christmas season is generally big business at Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis, and it is welcome after a tough 2023. Apples are the main feature of their 450 acres, and the crop was down 50% this year.
NHPR – October 2023
CONCORD, N.H. — Chuck and Diane Southers’ thermal alarm went off around 10:30 p.m. on a fateful night in mid-May. The alarm takes the temperature out in their 30-acre orchard and blares loudly if it dips too low. That Thursday night in Concord, New Hampshire, it was about 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature kept getting colder.
Morning Ag Clips – September 2023
HOLLIS, N.H. — Autumn has arrived bringing apple season to New Hampshire. However, this year’s apple season will look different than it has in past years due to weather challenges faced by growers this year. In February a bitter cold snap hit New Hampshire, and most of New England, with temperatures reaching as low as -20 degrees in some places.
NHPR – July 2023
PLAINFIELD, N.H. — Normally, by this time of year, the trees at Riverview Farm in Plainfield would be flush with growing fruit. But lately, Paul Franklin has to search for apples. “There should be somewhere around 600 apples on this tree,” he said, standing in a row of Gala trees. “You can see, there are far fewer than that.”
Morning Ag Clips – June 2023
DURHAM, N.H. — Shyloh Favreau’s research goals are to understand how Granite State farmers’ management of their crops affects bee populations, which in turn, help food producers succeed. The work supports NH Agricultural Experiment Station scientist Rich Smith’s broader research goal of improving the quantity and quality of ecosystem services derived from agriculture.
Morning Ag Clips – May 2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The New England Fellowship of Agricultural Adventurers presented John C. Porter, of Boscawen, NH, Extension Dairy Specialist Emeritus, and Diane and Chuck Souther, Apple Hill Farm, Concord, NH, with the 2023 Agricultural Adventurers Award at a ceremony at the farm, May 9.
WMUR – June 2022
WMUR – June 17, 2022 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis to announce a $200 million fund to help smaller specialty crop farmers meet government regulatory standards.
WSCY - Nov 2021
WSCY – Nov 2021
WSCY – October 8, 2021 – WSCY visited Diane Souther at Apple Hill Farm on Columbus Day weekend.
WNTK – Sept 2021
WNTK 99.7 FM – September 23, 2021 (7:35) – Peter St. James and Jeanne Lester talked with Chuck Souther of Apple Hill Farm and Kitt Plummer of Hazleton Orchards.
GMA – Sept 2021
Good Morning America Rise & Shine! – September 23, 2021 – New Hampshire welcomes tourists again after pandemic put businesses on pause. “GMA” heads to the Granite State to see how it is bouncing back more than a year after COVID-19 began.
MLT – Sept 2021
Monadnock Ledger-Transcript – September 20, 2021 – Fall harvest follows challenging wet summer for local farmers.
MIX 94.1 - Nov 2020
MIX 94.1 – Nov 2020
MIX 94.1 – November 2020 – Diane Souther from Apple Hill Farm shares all the work that’s happening in preparation for the holiday rush.