Local News

Kent Pyne of Pyne Farms walked through his orchard the first week of April, cutting open blossoms to assess damage. The night before had brought the first hard freeze of the growing season. Around 90% of his Santaquin orchard, home to tart cherries and apples were lost. His Genola orchard, home to peaches, pluots and other stone fruit, managed to survive the first freeze mostly untouched. The freeze on April 18, however, finished off what remained. “At that point, there was small fruit on the trees and they either turned black and shriveled up or just shriveled up and fell to the ground,” Pyne said. Pyne Farms has grown fruit in Utah County since 1903. His father told Pyne that 2026 followed the same pattern as the family’s last total loss in 1972: a warm winter and early spring, blossoms out ahead of schedule, then a killing freeze. Winter 2025-2026 was Utah's warmest ...