Growers in the nation's southernmost commercial apple-producing region are fighting a change in crop insurance law, which they claim could wipe out a 200-year-old industry.

Henderson County, N.C. -- a stretch of Southern Appalachia where the first apple trees were planted by a Loyalist on the run from the Revolutionary Army -- today generates about $24 million in annual apple revenue, representing 85 percent of the state's apple crop. But the region's 150-plus growers have been hard hit in recent years by calamities including frost, wind and hail.

"You name it, it's happened," sighs Agricultural Extension agent Marvin Owings.

Owings credits the Federal Crop Insurance Program, which reimburses growers for lost apples at a rate of $9.25 a bushel, with keeping area orchards solvent. He's worried a new proposal to significantly lower disaster payouts for lesser-grade apples could prove devastating.
According to the proposal, growers would receive just $2.25 a bushel for ruined apples deemed "process," meaning they'd been grown for sauces and pies. But Owings says many growers are forced into the process market by weather issues beyond their control: One bad storm can transform an orchard of ready-to-eat apples into blemished and misshapen fruit not suited for the grocery bin.

The payouts, he adds, aren't destined for growers' pockets. The money is typically used to underwrite spray programs. Owings admits apple growing is a less precarious profession further north, but adamantly defends the Southern apple industry. "Our quality is high," he says.

Apple growers have until next week to protest the change, which was announced just last month. A spokesperson for the USDA did not return a call seeking comment.

"This could put a number of growers out of business," Owings says. "We've got to get our letters in."