In Colorado, where limited supply makes apple picking — a classic fall activity — very competitive, orchard reservations open up in early winter.

After a cold spring and unseasonably hot and dry summer, Patrick Smith of Yakima is seeing some abnormalities in when his crops mature.

“We’d like to think that we’re responsible for high demand but it’s really the weather,” says Al Rose of Red Apple Farm.

Patrick Smith, CEO of Loftus Ranches, is fighting inflation as well. Some fertilizer materials have nearly doubled in a year or two, he says.

“They are on the front lines of the food production industry in this country,” said Patrick Smith, who runs Loftus Ranches.

“I guess, thanks in large part to COVID, we had a lot of people looking for outdoor picking and being outside at farms,” says Red Apple Farm owner Al Rose.

What the Cosmic Crisp means for the apple industry.

One apple farmer in Washington state shares his concerns about the trade war with Mexico.

The 20 percent tariff on U.S. apple exports will have huge effects on Washington's apple industry.

Patrick Smith of Loftus Ranches says trade wars disproportionately impact U.S. farmers.