13/08/2025
🫶🏻
🍏 When a Year’s Work Hangs on the Weather
Last year, Lisa from East Neuk Orchards poured twelve months of work into her apple trees. Pruning in winter, nurturing blossom in spring, protecting fruit through summer… all for harvest in autumn.
But the weather had other plans. Cold winds, persistent rain, and a lack of sunshine meant the apples were smaller and less juicier than usual. This year, her delicious apple juice ran out months before the next harvest – not because she didn’t work hard enough, but because nature simply didn’t play along.
It’s a story every farmer knows. We spend a whole year working towards one crop, and sometimes, through no fault of our own, the weather wipes it out or reduces it to a fraction of what it could have been.
This summer has been the opposite – sunshine and heat with very little rain – which might sound perfect to most of us, but for our cereal crops here at Ardross, it’s been a struggle. The plants have been thirsty, and when the rain finally came, it was too much, too fast.
Farming is a gamble with the sky. Every loaf, apple, and pint starts with months of care, patience, and hope for just the right balance of sun and rain.
So next time you pick up local produce, remember – you’re not just buying food, you’re supporting the farmers who face these challenges every single year and still get up the next day to try again. 💚
