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Late season drought speeds up Ohio apple harvest, raises concerns for 2026

A northeast Ohio specialty crop grower says warm and dry weather has led to an earlier than usual apple harvest across parts of the state. 

Geauga County farmer Bill Patterson tells Brownfield, “From an apple standpoint, the drought came in late enough that it’s not affecting us significantly. We’re very concerned about next year’s crop in a drought, but we’ve had a good pick your own season. It doesn’t look like much is going to change weather wise over the next ten days.”

He says he’s already starting to make plans for the 2026 crop year.

“We’re looking at next year’s inputs and trying to get ahold of those,” he says. “It’s not a good situation right now. Following that up with the government shutdown and the concerns about international markets. The last thing we needed was a government shutdown right in the middle of it.”

Patterson says he expects to finish harvesting the rest of his apple crop over the next few weeks.

He raises apples, strawberries, peaches, and maple syrup on his family’s agritourism operation.

AUDIO: Bill Patterson