Pennsylvania farmers say they’re determined to maintain a festive fall season despite higher fuel costs, fertilizer prices and severe crop that have added up to a difficult past few months. At Linvilla Orchards, the annual Pumpkinland celebration kicked off on Saturday, Sept. 12, alongside a pa cked arts and crafts festival with over 100 vendors. But behind the pumpkins, hayrides and other signs of fall is a season shaped by an unusual late April freeze and rising expenses. Sarah Linvilla said a late April freeze as the fruit trees were blossoming meant a big crop loss. “We lost 100% of our peach crop and about 90% of our apple crop. So a lot of people, when they think fall, think of that like pick your own apple experience. And we’re still going to offer agricultural pick your own experiences this year, but it’ll be a little different than the essential apples,” Linvilla said. The orchard constantly is updating its website with the “pick-your-own” experience crop. Saturday it was apples, raspberries, and flowers. The orchard is working with other farms to make sure local produce remains available. “It’s really a collaborative community experience and just doing our best to bring what we think is the best product out for people,” Linvilla said. The challenges come as drivers across the Philadelphia region are also paying more at the pump. A gallon of regular gas in Philadelphia costs $4.53, up 18 cents from a week ago, according to information provided for the report. Prices have also climbed in South Jersey and Delaware. Diesel has become especially expensive. A gallon of diesel in Philadelphia costs $6.21, compared with $3.94 a year ago. Claudia Schmidt, an associate professor of agricultural economics at Penn State University, said in an email that fuel used directly for agritourism activities such as hayrides, preparing corn mazes and parking areas, and operating pumps and generators typically represents a smaller expense than labor and insurance. Higher transportation costs can still ripple through farm operations, however, because products such as straw, mums and wholesale pumpkins arrive by truck. Higher gas prices can also make getting to farms more expensive for visitors. “Many entertainment-focused operators I have observed keep admission fairly constant. I expect most will absorb this spike in their own margin and reprice for next season,” Schmidt wrote. Fertilizer costs are another source of pressure. John Newton, vice president of public policy and economic analysis for the American Farm Bureau Federation, told NBC News last month that specialty crop growers are also dealing with tight margins. “They’re paying higher fertilizer prices, and their prices for the products that they grow are historically low. So their margins are tight as well,” Newton said. For families visiting Linvilla Orchards, however, the familiar signs of the season remain. “I just love the pumpkins and everything, pumpkin spice! So that’s why we’re here,” Abigail Dyer said. Molly and Marie Day said the experience is about “being together as a family.” Linvilla said the attractions will continue throughout the fall. “We start this weekend, but it just keeps getting better throughout the season, and we end our season with our Food Truck Festival on November 8th,” Linvilla said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less