A warm April week followed by multiple freezing nights has delivered one of the most damaging blows to New Jersey farmers in years. Terhune Orchards, a beloved local landmark in the Greater Princeton area, is among the hardest hit.

An unusually warm stretch in April raised hopes for an early, abundant growing season across New Jersey. Then came the freeze.

Multiple nights of subfreezing temperatures have left NJ farmers, including operators at Terhune Orchards in our region, facing what state officials are calling one of the most devastating seasons in recent memory. Blossoms that had opened early in the warmth were killed off by the sudden cold, wiping out entire fruit crops before the season even began.

For those of us in the Greater Princeton area, this story hits close to home. Terhune Orchards has been a community gathering place for generations, a place families visit for apples, pumpkins, and the simple pleasure of connecting with local agriculture. Behind that warm community presence is a real business facing real losses, alongside hundreds of other farming operations across Mercer County and beyond.

It's a stark reminder that agriculture remains one of the most weather-dependent industries, even as development reshapes so much of the landscape we thought was permanent. For local real estate, this kind of story underscores why preservation of working farmland matters, and why proximity to farms and green space remains valued by families in our region. Visit TheWuTeam.com to explore properties in communities that still honor that agricultural heritage.

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