Article written by Madeline Wimmer, UMN Extension Fruit Production Educator.
Apples
Extreme weather conditions can bring end-of-season challenges
Apple resource cards for customers
Article: Did your orchard experience hail damage this year? Hail netting has its advantages.
Grapes
Announcement: 2026 Annual UMN Grape Field Day happening Sept. 12th
Super Fruit Innovations resources for apple and grape growers (videos included)
Take the UMN Fruit and Veg annual survey!
Apples
Extreme weather conditions can bring end-of-season challenges
Images: Sekapp Orchard, located in Rochester, Minnesota, had some issues from a storm that passed through which took a number of trees and apples down, along with minor damage to their farm store.
Investing in fruit crops in the Upper Midwest can be a wild ride with all of the risks trees and fruits face throughout the year. I’ve previously covered the damage winter warm ups, followed by temperature drops can do to an apple tree’s health. Especially relevant this year was spring frost, which led to various amounts of crop loss in different regions. Mid-to-late summer droughts have been problematic the past few years, especially for establishing and high-density orchards. And even if your orchard made it through that, plus all of the regular pest management required to achieve quality fruit, experiencing a storm with high winds and hail toward harvest can still happen.
Last night, the storms that went through SE Minnesota led to high winds and hail. At Sekapp Orchard, where trees are trained as central leader, freestanding trees, around 50–100 trees were damaged. Nearly half of what was remaining of the First Kiss apple crop was blown from the trees (especially prone to fruit drop), while an estimated 5–10 percent of fruit from other apple varieties also blew off. Sekapp sells a number of other produce options at their farm store, which has a number of umbrellas and a sales tent that also blew over. While hail did pass through the region, fruit was less affected by hail at Sekapp.
As devastating as extreme weather events can be, having a plan set in place can help. This might include action items related to your crop and on-farm practices, as well as the safety of yourself, family, and farm workers.
Applying for crop insurance, exploring funding options like grants or loans to help you invest in protective equipment and infrastructure, and having a diversified market for your farm to help when crop loss happens can also help. Simple things like developing safety protocols for high heat and extreme weather conditions can be proactive and support wellbeing on the farm.
If you’re interested in developing a farm resiliency plan, reach out to our program to find out more information about the process.
Apple resource cards for customers
Colorful, easy-to-share cards for u-pick orchards and farm stands. These cards offer friendly tips on keeping apples safe, fresh, and delicious—covering handling, storage, and simple preservation ideas families can use at home. Simply download, print (two sided), and cut in half.
Click here to view and download a printable version of the apple customer resource card!
Article: Did your orchard experience hail damage this year? Hail netting has its advantages.
Hailstorms were reportedly an issue for a number of orchards last year and this past season. While hailstorms are extreme weather events that may occur infrequently, the damage can be devastating, sometimes leading to disease issues like fire blight and reduced fruit marketability. Crop insurance is one route to recovering costs when crop loss occurs from hail damage, but preventive strategies like hail netting can preserve a crop when applied effectively. To read more about hail netting, check out the rest of this article through the link below.
Article: Did your orchard experience hail damage this year? Hail netting has its advantages.
Grapes
Announcement: 2026 Annual UMN Grape Field Day happening Sept. 12th from 10:00 - 12:00
The UMN grape field day often coincides with the start of the larger harvest season for many grape growers throughout the state. If you have time in between the harvests, or are generally interested in growing wine or table grapes, come to the UMN Horticultural Research Center (located near the UMN Landscape Arboretum) to engage with our UMN grape research and vineyard managers, ask questions, and try some of our grapes from this year’s harvest!
Grape tasting
Image: A wide variety of table and wine grapes are prepared for sampling during the field day.
If you’re thinking about which grape varieties to grow, stopping by our grape tasting table is a great way to get a snapshot of different grape variety cluster appearances, colors, and flavors. Cold climate wine grapes, table grapes, and even some vinifera varieties that are rare to taste in the Midwest will be available for sampling.
Super Fruit Innovations resources for apple and grape growers (videos included)
Images: A handful of apple and grape cultivated varieties bred through the UMN fruit breeding program are featured through Superior Fruit Innovations licensing.
Earlier in the season, UMN Fruit and Veg News posted an article to help growers through the process of setting up a Superior Fruit Innovations (SFI) account: What to know about the Superior Fruit Innovations Program. SFI is a new program that will manage plant licenses for a number of different UMN apples and grapes. This includes First Kiss® (known as Rave outside of Minnesota), Big Flirt™, and SuperSnap™ for apple growers, and the new Northern Glo grape series, including LumiGlo™, ShadowGlo™, and EmberGlo™.
SFI has released additional resources to support you, including a number of videos for your viewing. The SFI frequently asked question (FAQ) page lists a number of common questions related to the program. If you’re a grape or apple grower in Minnesota, you’ll also want to check out the SFI Minnesota Member Page.
SFI step-by-step instructions for creating an account, gaining membership, and obtaining licenses:
Step 1: Create and Express License System Account
https://mediaspace.umn.edu/media/t/1_4hujqepk
Step 2: Requesting an SFI Membership
https://mediaspace.umn.edu/media/t/1_bnk7l0kh
Step 3: Obtaining Individual Plant Variety Licenses
https://mediaspace.umn.edu/media/t/1_e5s40tbw
Take the UMN Fruit and Veg annual survey!
What’s working? What do YOU want more of? This is our annual request for your support of the UMN Fruit Update series and other articles. Please take our short survey to let us know what you’ve enjoyed and what you want to see more of in the future!
UMN Fruit and Veg News Annual Survey
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Thank you to our farm and ag professional partners for contributions to the UMN Fruit Update series. Non-credited photos in this article were either taken by Madeline Wimmer or within the UMN Extension system.
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