PEQUEA, Pa. — Central Pennsylvania is experiencing its second heat wave of the summer, and farmers are facing the challenges that come with it.
Lancaster County is experiencing moderate drought conditions, and Corey McLeaf, the co-owner of Cherry Hill Orchard in Pequea Township, says the heat and lack of rain will mean sweeter yet smaller fruit.
"Here at the orchard, dry season means sweet, good fruit," McLeaf said. "The fruit may not be as large, but it is real good and sweet in a dry air."
Mcleaf says the recent drought conditions mean the juice of his fruit is in high demand from unwanted customers.
"Birds are what we're fighting with right now," McLeaf explained. "They really can't find moisture anywhere. Things are drying up. So they're into our peaches or nectarines, into our sweet corn, but they have to eat too."
The orchard may have no shortage of crops, but it still has to water them, which can be a challenge in dry conditions such as these.
"We're doing as much as we can," McLeaf said. "We only have so much water that we can irrigate from, so we're just constantly running that all day long."
Even during a second heat wave of the summer, McLeaf says his crops will prove sweeter as a result of the dry air, even if he’d like it to be a little less dry.
"We would like to see a little bit of rain every now and then," McLeaf said. "But if not, we will do our very best to keep things watered, but still again, nice, sweet produce when you have dry air."