‘It’s unreal': Farmers band together to dump unsold apples from their orchards, explaining it's due to high prices set by grocery stores

Eleonora Bader

May 10, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Let's face it…

Farming is getting more and more difficult as time goes on. Rising labor costs, unexpected infestations, or water shortages can all push the economics of apple production to the brink. A bumper crop of apples in a valley might seem like a farmer's dream, but sometimes, that abundance turns into a nightmare, forcing farmers to walk away from their trees laden with ripe fruit. But they need to go somewhere, right? I mean the apples. Abandoning crops is a last resort, a bitter pill to swallow after months of hard work. Nobody enjoys giving up good apples. Farmers will try everything first – negotiating lower prices, storing apples for later sale, or turning them into juice. But sometimes, these efforts aren't enough, and the valley, once overflowing with promise, becomes a graveyard of abandoned fruit.

One picture of an entire valley of abandoned apples left Redditors gobsmacked, and the person who posted it quickly explained what was happening. Scroll down to read the full story, and then check out this brave job candidate who walked out in the middle of an interview because they felt that the hiring manager was undermining their experience.