From tangy Jonathans and blush-tinted Honeycrisps to lip-puckering Granny Smiths, Colorado grows a bounty of spectacular apples under some of the best climatic conditions in the country.
In a normal year, our local harvest runs from mid-August through mid-October, according to experts at Colorado State University. This year, though, has been anything but normal. On April 17, Colorado’s Western Slope endured one of its worst freezes ever recorded; the situation was especially grim in Hotchkiss and Paonia.
“We had such a warm winter,” said Steve Ela, co-owner of Hotchkiss-based , a fourth-generation organic orchard known for its organic and sustainable practices. Following an unseasonably warm February and March, Ela’s trees bloomed three weeks ahead of schedule – a full ten days earlier than he’d ever recorded.
Two weeks post-bloom, a cold front rolled in. “We were below freezing for 13 hours overnight,” Ela said. Despite heaters and nutrient sprays, Delta County farmers lost everything. “We’ve had bad years, but I’ve never had a zero crop.”
Ela’s crew is still making biweekly appearances at its regular farmers markets, selling zero-waste jams, jellies, apple butter, and dried fruit. Stocking up on these pantry staples is a delicious way to keep local growers afloat; you can also order Ela’s products online or donate to this farm via the “hug-a-tree” feature community members set up on Ela’s website.
That spring freeze wasn’t the only blow to local agriculture. Drought is also playing havoc, said David Sterle, a scientist at the Western Colorado Research Center. In Delta County, depleted reservoirs have caused irrigation canals to dry up, leaving orchards like Ela’s without any water.
“Orchard Mesa and Palisade will possibly lose their water in the next couple of days,” said Sterle, noting that these areas “never lose water.” Itap a nightmarish scenario since the weather’s still extremely hot. Even if they aren’t producing, fruit trees need water now to yield future crops, especially young saplings with shallow roots.
“We’re in a hotter, drier trend,” said Marilyn Bay, executive director of the Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, an industry advocacy group. Thatap bad news for individual farmers – and for the statewide economy.
Ela estimated that a single April freeze cost Delta County $10 to $15 million. Statewide, fruit and vegetable production generates nearly $300 million annually, supporting an agricultural sector that contributes over 195,000 jobs.
“Being a farmer isn’t for the faint of heart,” said Will Perez of in Ault.
Front Range orchards – which produce a relatively small portion of Colorado’s fruit – were also hit by the freeze, forcing fruit
growers like Perez to pivot (he’s temporarily swapping u-pick services for country store goods and fall-themed activities).
It’s no wonder USDA stats show that Colorado lost 2,837 farms between 2017 and 2022. “In 2023, the U.S. became a net importer of food,” Bay said. “Do we really want to depend on other countries for our food supply?”
Buying Colorado-grown produce has some additional benefits, he explained. Store-bought fruit might travel for a week or more before landing in your neighborhood supermarket; scientists now know that fresh produce loses key vitamins over time, even during refrigerated storage. Local fruit, by contrast, reaches consumers within days – sometimes hours.
