The apple industry has been met with a number of challenges this year, thanks to this unusually hot September.

Owners at Stanton’s Feura Farm say the heat has condensed the period of time where it’s at its peak. Farmers say it’s also caused some varieties – like those in the Macintosh family – to drop earlier than normal.

Apple picking is a fall favorite for upstate New Yorkers, with late September being the peak, but farmers say the unseasonably hot weather is keeping folks away. Even though the number of people hitting the orchard might be low, the number of apples is abundant. The Stantons say that industry-wide, they are seeing the biggest crop of apples in this area that they’ve had in several years.

With a major cool-down forecast for the end of the week, orchards are expecting business to pick up.