FREDERICKSBURG, Texas  — Pounds of peaches are sorted and packed at Vogel Orchard in Fredericksburg, Texas, the heart of Hill Country. Jamey Vogel's family has run the place for decades. Just like clockwork, he counts on a bumper crop even if Mother Nature has other plans.

What You Need To Know

  • Warm weather affected Texas peach crop

  • Trees need certain amount of "chill" hours to produce bountiful crop

  • Vogel Orchard in Fredericksburg still has good amount of peaches

We headed out to the orchard where a warmer winter this year meant fewer peaches to pick.

"It was very warm and dry during January - which we didn’t get a setting of fruit on certain varieties like we had hoped to," Vogel said.

And its the same story across the Texas Hill Country. A lot of trees need a certain amount of chill hours to produce a good crop. That’s why you won't find peaches, like Vogel’s, at your local farmers market. There just weren't enough to go around.

"Last year at this time we had a lot of folks taking peaches to Austin, Dallas, and Houston to sell there, but this year those peaches are just not available," Vogel said.

Vogel says despite the wacky weather he still ended up with a pretty good crop. As for seasons to come, Vogel says he’s working on beating nature at its own game.

"What we have started doing is planting varieties that need less chill hours - maybe a few years ago would have been grown south of here," he said.