Somerset cider orchards decimated by drought
Cider producers in Somerset report their orchards have been decimated by the long summer drought, with many trees producing no fruit and others dropping
Somerset cider producers say their famous orchards have been decimated by a long summer drought. Many trees have produced no fruit, while others have dropped their apples early, leaving them to rot before ripening.
Kimberly Jones of Honey's Cider near Bath says the situation is gut-wrenching. Her orchard has produced only a tenth of its normal apple crop. Neil MacDonald, who manages over 1,000 acres of Somerset orchards, reports watching half his apples fall unripe due to drought stress.
Orchard yields plummet
Walking through Kimberly Jones's 25-year-old orchard outside Bath, it is hard to see any apples. She states they might get 10% of their normal crop, and calls that estimate generous. She explains that because 2025 was also dry, the trees became stressed. This year, most have not made fruit at all to conserve energy.
Honey's Cider is made only from fresh juice, with Jones refusing to use apple concentrate. This means their cider production will be down this year. Ironically, she says the hot summer has been brilliant for selling cider, but they are now struggling to grow fruit for next year.
On another famous Somerset cider farm, George Scott makes nearly a million litres of cider a year. Not this year. He says they would normally harvest 20-30 tonnes of apples from one orchard, but there is so little fruit he will not even use the harvester. Neighbouring farms he buys from are also short, with one grower down from 200 tonnes to about 30.
Scott says they have plenty of cider in tanks for now, as stock can be kept from year to year. He worries about the future of his trees, however, after two years of drought. Climate scientists are warning farmers to expect more hot, dry summers.
A harvest for the compost heap
Not every orchard is bare. Neil MacDonald's Orchard Park Farm near Shepton Mallet has plenty of apples, both on trees and on the ground. The apple harvester is running at least three weeks early, but it is not picking fruit for cider. All these apples will go on the compost heap, MacDonald says ruefully.
He cuts one open to show the inside, mottled brown and floury. The apple is unripe but has already rotted. He explains the trees, stressed without water, have dumped the fruit to save themselves. The harvester fills a trailer with apples that will be thrown away.
MacDonald estimates they have lost about half the crop this way. An orchard that should yield 20 tonnes might provide only 10.
Adapting to a new climate
Somerset's cider apple growers know this is not a freak year. Mike Kendon, a climate scientist at the Met Office, says what was once considered extreme weather is increasingly seen as normal. Growers are adapting. MacDonald now waters newly planted trees, a practice he says was unnecessary five years ago.
Irrigation for hundreds of acres of cider orchards is not viable, however. Farmers growing eating apples for supermarkets command higher prices and have invested in such systems. Cider growers are now having to rethink their calculations.
Climate change may alter the very taste of West Country cider. The Dabinett variety, key for Somerset cider's bittersweet taste, has produced very few apples this year. MacDonald explains Dabinett needs a cold snap, which was absent this year and last. He is now grafting other varieties onto his Dabinett trees, plants that fare better in hot, dry weather. As the climate changes, the taste of Somerset cider may change too.
