HOLLAND, Ohio — Over the last several weeks, the weather has been unusually warm. While it may still be winter, Toledo on Monday set a new record high of 78 degrees.
Jeff MacQueen, the owner of MacQueen's Orchards in Holland, said his crops are three to four weeks ahead of what they should be at this time of year. If temperatures keep fluctuating, he said it could affect his 88-year-old family business.
"Right now, there should be frost in the ground, it should be 30 degrees, there should be snow flying around," MacQueen said.
But with temperatures being so high the last few weeks, his apple and peach tree roots are warming up, making the trees think it's time to grow.
He said once growing starts, there's no turning back. While his apple trees haven't bloomed yet, he's unsure what kind of weather will come.
"When they're in full bloom, we can't have any 30-degree weather," MacQueen said. "Anything below 30 kills the flower, then it kills the apple. Then there's nothing on the tree."
MacQueen said since the creation of his family's orchard in 1936, they have never had a full crop failure where there aren't apples at all.
MacQueen said he's not sure if he'll have the same number of apples he usually does, which is 90,000 bushels. He thinks there will be enough apples for local buyers but possibly not for those in other areas.
"We go to Florida, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, we go all over," MacQueen said. "We would probably corral that back in and keep everything local."
He said it accounts for a large chunk of his revenue, so cutting back would affect his business financially.
"I'm not worried yet, but concerned," Macqueen said. "I see the end of this week we're supposed to get down to 50 (degrees), and then maybe 30 at night, so that'll slow things down. If it stays that, then it would be fine. But if next week it gets back to 70 again, 75 for a couple of days then, yes, I will."