September 2022 - 1

SWD-killing wasps
released in Michigan
to protect fruit
Cold tolerance is hot
topic at Michigan
Viticulture Field Day
6
8
24
Creating a brighter
future for generations
of farmers and
consumers alike
September 2022 | Volume 61 |
Issue 9
TEXAS STYLE PEACHES
Jenschke Orchards braves excessive heat,
drought challenges
Lindsey Jenschke of Jenschke Orchards in Fredericksburg, Texas, examines peaches. The 61-year-old family U-pick operation also grows strawberries, blackberries, pumpkins
and plums sold through their farm store. Photos: Doug Ohlemeier
By Doug Ohlemeier
Assistant Editor
Growing peaches for more than six
decades, Jenschke Orchards is a U-pick
fruit operation in Fredericksburg,
Texas, in the heart of the Texas Hill
Country, an area known for sweettasting
peaches.
Barrett and Lindsey Jenschke also
grow strawberries, blackberries,
pumpkins and plums, all sold through
their farm store.
In 1961, former peanut growers
Eugene and Travis Jenschke, Barrett's
grandfather and father, started growing
peaches and other produce for a
roadside stand.
Barrett Jenschke met and later
married Lindsey while attending
college in Waco, Texas. He worked as an
aviation operation analyst for Boeing,
which took them to South Carolina.
With aging parents and a daughter
entering kindergarten, the couple in
2011 decided to return to Texas to place
new roots. Barrett Jenschke commuted
to San Antonio for his Boeing job
and the Jenschkes worked the farm
during summers. They weren't initially
planning to work full-time but decided
they could make a difference.
Peach expansion
Customer requests led to the U-pick
operation. The Jenschkes made
improvements, including constructing
a country store in 2017, replacing a
covered area along the highway where
they sold peaches.
Before the couple began, the farm
grew 20 acres of peaches; that has grown
to 65 acres. The Jenschkes frequently
expand, planting trees every year and
growing more than 30 varieties. Peaches
harvest May to September.
More than 60 years after its first
harvest, the Jenschkes in 2019 extended
the farm season, adding strawberries,
which begin harvesting in February.
U-pick pumpkins and a 5-acre corn
maze provide fall activities.
Blackberries, a recent addition, harvest
June and July. The Jenschkes recently
See JENSCHKE, page 5
USApple forecast 255 million
bushels, up 2.7% from last year
By Doug Ohlemeier
Assistant Editor
Production gains in Michigan
and New York could counter lower
production in Washington and push
2022 U.S. apple production higher.
While Washington growers are
expected to harvest one of their smallest
crops in recent decades, Michigan's
" stored energy " is helping it bounce
back from disappointing recent crops.
USApple forecasts for 2022-23 overall
apple production at 254.9 million
bushels. While the crop is expected to
be 2.7% higher than the previous year,
it would be 3.5% lower than the most
recent five-year production average.
Growers reacted to the estimate
released at USApple's Aug. 18-19 annual
Outlook Conference in Chicago.
A wet, windy and colder than usual
spring combined with low return
bloom, which produced smaller sizings
and volume, are factors in a lower
Washington fresh crop. The Washington
State Tree Fruit Association estimates
fresh production at 108.7 million
bushels, down 11% from 2021's 122
million bushels.
" Lack of return bloom coupled
with cool weather at bloom timing
resulted in poor pollination, which
further reduced crop set, " said Scott
McDougall, co-owner of McDougall
and Sons in Wenatchee, Washington.
See USAPPLE, page 22

September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2022