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Local orchard taking a bite out of national apple shortage

Business is booming at one Botetourt County farm

Susan Bahorich

reporter

7:04 PM EDT, October 10, 2012

BOTETOURT CO., Va.

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It takes a long time to get to this point.

"We care for the apples and watch them and now it's actually getting them off the trees," says Jennifer Ikenberry of Ikenberry Orchard.

And, cooler, crisp temperatures make that process a little easier for the folks at Ikenberry Orchard in Botetourt County.

But, a bitter cold snap last April has the apple industry talking.

Says Ikenberry, "The apples that didn't stay dormant long enough because we had a mild winter, they came out and the frost nipped them and it can wipe out an entire crop and unfortunately they got affected by it."

While most of the nation is dealing with the damaged and lost crops, that's not the case here.

Ikenberry says that late frost really didn't hurt their crops. In fact, it was kind of a natural selection process that really thinned out the bad apples, making for the best yield in years.

In fact, she says the hot summer set them up for a great season, making them ready to take a bite out of all those fall and winter recipes.

"The hot summer probably, the sun on them made them grow, have good sugar content and now with the cooler nights it's been nice too because it helps them get really nice red, deep red color so we couldn't of asked for a better time," explains Ikenberry.

Since the apple shortage is throughout the country, you could notice higher prices at the store on apples and cider.

To learn more about Ikenberry Orchard, click here.