By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

  Rodney Hammond hadn’t seen anything like it in more than 50 years.

His yearly apple crop that once averaged nearly 1,000 bushels a year has been reduced to a mere 10.
“It was a real warm spring, which brought the blossoms out earlier than usual. When I first saw the apples they looked real nice and it was one of the heaviest crops I’d ever had,” he said. “A week later we got the frost. Within two to three days they had all turned brown and dropped off.”

Hammond, who has run Hammond’s Farm in Lyman since 1954, was one of many farmers struck this year by a crippling frost that swept through southern Maine in late May.

Bill Spiller of Spiller Farms in Wells said his orchard was “devastated” by the frost. 

Spiller, who has been at the farm since 1967, usually has annual yields of approximately 2,000 bushels, and said this year he expects no more than 23. 

“We usually get frost around the middle of May and the apples will blossom shortly after. Because we had such warm weather this year the apples blossomed about two weeks earlier, which is why the frost was so bad,” Spiller said.

Sandra Truslow, director of farm services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Maine, said the frost led to reports of staggering losses across southwestern Maine, with some farmers’ losses ranging from 40 to 90 percent. 

“I think what this shows is that people need to have insurance. Our weather is just so unpredictable. People need to think about insuring their crops if they hope to survive,” said Truslow.

Spiller said that he has considered getting insurance but that the process is “quite cumbersome.” “The thing is, you need to have full coverage, partial loss doesn’t cover everything. You can’t insure just one crop,” said Spiller. 

Ramona Snell, who owns Snell Family Farm  in Buxton with her husband, John, said this year her farm looks like a “ghost orchard.” 

“You see one apple here and one apple there, but it’s mostly empty. We got nailed,” she said. 

Snell said she has had to buy apples from other orchards that were less affected by frost just to keep something in stock for customers. She said she’s glad there is a strong community of farms in Maine. 

“Apple folks are always looking out for each other,” Snell said.

Truslow said many farms located in higher, hillier areas, didn’t seem to be affected by the frost, but for those who were in flat regions, temperatures dropped to around 28 degrees.

Spiller agreed and said many orchards located farther inland such as McDougal Orchards in Springvale saw relatively no damage from frost.  

“A lot of orchards did worse by the coast. Anytime you have temperatures drop below 32 degrees at night, crops will sustain some form of damage,” Spiller said.

Russeting, which causes a toughness to develop on the outside skin of the apple is one of these types of damage. Hammond said another sign of frost is the appearance of yellow markings that will form on the apples. 

Hammond worries that fewer people are considering farming as a viable career path.

“It’s a lost art,” Hammond said, “you don’t see many young guys out there these days.”

Hammond, who relies mostly on the sale of hay to sustain his business, planted his apple trees years ago as a way to supplement his retirement fund. Other farmers are more dependent on the fruit.

According to Snell, a quarter of her income comes from the sale of apples, and she’s had to put plans on hold to replace old equipment this year. 

“We’ve had to be very cautious with our spending,” said Snell. 

“There’s failures every year, which is why you have to be smart and raise as many different things as you can.” Snell said one of the unfortunate things about apples is that it draws families to the farm to pick, who more often than not end up buying other items as well. 

Spiller said nearly half his income comes from the sale of apples.

“We don’t live on much,” said Spiller, “but I’ve never had anything happen like this before. I’ve seen russeting and damage from hail, but nothing like this.”

Hammond said battling issues such as weather is something that comes with the trade.

“One of the risks of farming is that we’re the biggest gamblers in the world. All you can do is keep going and hope for the best,” he said.