Hudson Valley Farmers Using Fire and Helicopters to Fight Frost

A local farm was setting fires in their orchard this week in order to save their apple crop.

If you live near Fishkill Farms in Hopewell Junction you might have noticed the strong odor and loud noise coming from the apple orchards. Because of the freezing overnight temperatures, farmers were resorting to drastic measures to save the delicate buds on their apple trees from being destroyed by frost.

Fishkill Farms announced on social media that they would be using some "tried-and-true" methods to protect their crops from a temperature inversion that swept through the Hudson Valley. This phenomenon occurs when colder air is present below warmer air. In situations like this, the air temperature can be considerably colder on the ground, which is devastating to crops.

In a desperate attempt to keep the apple blossoms from freezing, Fishkill Farms set small fires between the trees all throughout their orchard. In order to stop the warm air from rising up into the atmosphere, a helicopter hovered over the orchard, blowing the warm air back on the trees.

Fishkill Farms shared video footage of the incredible operation on its Instagram account.

Usually, the most dangerous cold temperatures occur between 4am and 6am, so the procedure was done very early in the morning. Some local residents voiced their complaints about the noise, smoke and strong odor from the farm, while others applauded the farm's effort to save their business. Fishkill Farms thanked their neighbors for their understanding,

we apologize for any disturbance we might cause our neighbors! We wouldn’t take such extreme measures unless it was critical to saving our fruit crop this year. We appreciate your continued support and understanding.

Temperatures tonight shouldn't be lower than 55 degrees. And with the extended forecast not calling for any more freezing temperatures, it looks as though these drastic measures won't need to be utilized again this season.

Listen to the Boris & Robyn Show weekday mornings from 6AM to 10AM on 101.5 WPDH. Stream us live through the website, Alexa-enabled device, Google Home or the WPDH mobile app.