Harlyn Fisher has lived on his family farm for nearly 100 years. Thirty-five years ago, he decided to add some apple trees to the farm. Among the Haralson, Cortland, McIntosh, Jonathan and Spartan trees dotting the homestead stands a lone apple tree that his father planted.
“It’s a little shaky, but it’s the best producer this year,” said the 97-year-old who still picks apples. “The McIntosh apples were real early this year. I might get eight bushels. Last year the trees were just loaded. It’s not a good year this year.”
Fisher is not alone. Amaya Atucha, a professor and chair of the department of plant and agroecosystem sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says many apple growers in northeast Wisconsin are reporting less-than-ideal crops.
“After a cold winter caused potential damage to apple trees, cool spring temperatures led to delayed and slower pollination, resulting in smaller crops in some orchards in Northeast Wisconsin,” Atucha said in her scouting report.
Rasmussen’s Apple Acres near Oshkosh posted on its Facebook page that due to “another so-so season and lack of rain” the orchard would be open to the public for only one week, beginning Sept. 16.
“We want to open for at least a week so our loyal customers can still pick their own apples,” the post read.
Across Lake Winnebago on the east shore, the Little Farmer apple orchard in Malone is also experiencing less than normal yields.
“The apples are OK. It’s not a huge bumper crop, but it’s not a disaster either,” said manager Jen Bergen. “The earlier, more delicate varieties were impacted, but as we’re moving through the later varieties like Honeycrisp, Paula Red, McIntosh, Jonamac and Cortlands, they’re doing much better.”
Last year, Arden Schroeder, owner of Schroeder’s Orchard near Neenah, recorded over 100 bushels of Zestar! apples, his big seller. This year, he says he will be lucky to harvest 15 bushels.
In the 30 years he has grown apples, Schroeder says he has experienced good growing seasons, except for a late frost five years ago.
“Some have blamed it on the goofy weather or lack of pollination, but this is terrible,” Schroeder said. “We’re still waiting for our later varieties like Fuji and Honeycrisp, so there’s still some hope yet.”
Appleland LLC, near Fredonia, says they will produce just an average crop this year. The family also runs a wholesale apple business near Belgium.
Jacob Bares, one of the owners of his family’s apple business, Appleland Farm Market near Fredonia, says they will produce just an average crop this year. The family also runs a wholesale apple business near Belgium.
“Our early varieties like Ginger Golds were lighter (harvest-wise),” Bares said. “Then we had those three days in mid-June that reached the mid-90s which also caused the trees to thin a little more.”
Big sellers like Honeycrisp, Zestar!, Pink Lady and Evercrisp were slow to take off, but Bares says they’re doing much better now.
Some Wisconsin producers are experiencing an ideal growing season
According to the Wisconsin Fruit Crop Scouting report issued by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the 2025 Wisconsin apple crop is described as a mix of lighter yields in some areas due to cool spring weather, while other regions, like western Wisconsin, report excellent conditions with a good, ripe crop following a generally favorable growing season.
Gays Mills is famous for its apple orchards, which flourish in the temperate valley of the Kickapoo in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region. This large apple is a tribute to the area growers.
Allen Teach of Sunrise Orchards in Gays Mills told Wisconsin Public Radio that it’s been an excellent year for his crop in the western part of the state.
“We here at Gays Mills have avoided any of the big, massive rains that we’re kind of famous for here and it’s been nearly an ideal growing season,” Teach said. “We had a big push of colder air here, which has really helped the apple crop get nice and red.”
Some apple orchards in central Wisconsin also fared well despite wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada. Rock Ridge Orchard, located near Edgar, recently informed customers on its Facebook page that the apple crop was ripening late this year due to summer weather and wildfire smoke. The orchard has 12,000 trees and sells 30 varieties of apples.
“The apple crop is beautiful and we have been color picking apples as they ripen, so pick your own apples will be following soon.”
Dick Bauer, who has run Bauer’s Apple Shed near Hortonville, planted his orchard 50 years ago and now the next generation is stepping up to carry on the tradition.
Despite the hot weather, Bauer says his trees were spared sunburn and apple varities like Cortland, Honeycrisp and Sparans have been dependable producers.
“We’ve got a pretty good crop. Some of the trees are loaded and there’s not a lot on others,” Bauer said. “But that’s par for the course.”
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin State Farmer: Wisconsin apple growers report a mixed bag with 2025 harvest
