The Honeycrisp Dilemma: Why Vermont Apple Growers Love and Hate the "Diva" Apple
For the farmers who grow it, it’s a high-stakes gamble—a finicky, fragile, and astronomically expensive variety that has been called both a “farmer’s nightmare” and a “Moneycrisp.”
The story of the Honeycrisp in Vermont is a microcosm of the pressures and opportunities facing small, diversified farms in the 21st-century food system. For consumers, it’s a simple, if expensive, pleasure: the loudest crunch and juiciest bite in the produce aisle.
For the farmers who grow it, it’s a high-stakes gamble—a finicky, fragile, and astronomically expensive variety that has been called both a “farmer’s nightmare” and a “Moneycrisp.”
This single apple did more than just introduce a new flavor; it completely upended the North American apple industry, forcing a wave of innovation that is now directly shaping the future of Vermont’s orchards. Understanding this apple—why it’s so difficult, why it’s so valuable, and what comes next—is key to understanding the challenges and choices your local apple grower faces every season.
The “Diva” Apple: What Makes Honeycrisp So Hard to Grow?
The characterization of Honeycrisp as a “diva” is not an exaggeration; it is a horticultural fact. Its grievances are rooted in a cascade of physiological problems that make it exceptionally costly to grow, harvest, and store.
First, there’s the origin story. Popular myth, once reported by The Wall Street Journal, tells of a breeder rescuing a lone sapling from a discard pile. The real story, according to MNopedia, is more complex. The apple was the result of a 1960 cross at the University of Minnesota, and while the original seedling was discarded, it had been cloned. It was one of these forgotten clones that breeder David Bedford rediscovered in 1982. Even its genetics were misunderstood for decades; DNA testing in 2017 revealed its true parents to be ‘Keepsake’ and an unreleased variety, not ‘Macoun’ and ‘Honeygold’ as long believed.
This finicky nature is baked into its genes. The apple’s single greatest flaw is its extreme susceptibility to bitter pit, a disorder that causes dark, sunken lesions on the skin and brown, corky tissue in the flesh. According to research from Cornell University, the apple is remarkably inefficient at transporting calcium, absorbing only about half as much as a ‘Gala’ apple. This nutrient imbalance, which requires farmers to apply an intensive and costly regimen of foliar calcium sprays all season, is the root cause of the “farmer’s nightmare.”
The challenges continue long after harvest. According to Washington State University (WSU) Tree Fruit Research, Honeycrisp is highly sensitive to chilling injuries at standard apple storage temperatures. To prevent this, packers must “condition” the fruit by holding it at a warmer temperature (around $50$°F) for up to seven days before moving it to long-term cold storage.
But here is the devastating catch: according to research in ASHS Journals, this “conditioning” period—necessary to prevent one problem—can dramatically accelerate and exacerbate the development of bitter pit, which often doesn’t even appear until weeks or months into storage.
Finally, the very traits consumers love create high labor costs. According to Growing Produce, the apple’s famously thin skin is easily punctured by its own stem during picking. This requires that workers meticulously hand-clip each apple from the tree, a practice that can double harvest costs compared to simply pulling the fruit.
The “Moneycrisp”: If It’s a Nightmare, Why Bother?
The answer is simple: price. The Honeycrisp commands an extraordinary premium that, in good years, can make the gamble pay off.
According to USDA wholesale reports, a carton of Honeycrisp from Michigan could fetch between $37.00 and $46.95, while the same package of Gala apples ranged from $18.00 to $26.95. This premium is what incentivizes growers to undertake the high-stakes risk of its cultivation.
However, this premium is dangerously volatile. Honeycrisp’s initial success and the expiration of its patent in 2008 led to a gold rush of uncontrolled planting. This, in turn, has created a market prone to boom-and-bust cycles. In early 2024, a 28% increase in Washington State’s apple crop created a “Honeycrisp apple glut,” as reported by MPR News. The resulting oversupply caused the average national retail price to plummet from $2.49 per pound the previous year to just $1.70 per pound.
This price crash doesn’t just hurt Honeycrisp; it depresses the entire apple category as retailers use deep discounts on other varieties to compete.
For a grower, the decision to plant Honeycrisp is a calculated bet. They face exceptionally high costs and a high probability of crop loss—with some estimates, cited by MNopedia, suggesting only 55-60% of the harvested fruit may ultimately make it to market. They are betting that the premium price received for that smaller, perfect portion of the crop will be enough to cover the high costs and losses of the entire crop.
The Race for a “Better” Honeycrisp
The chaos of the Honeycrisp market forced the industry to innovate. The mandate was clear: create an apple with the Honeycrisp’s incredible texture but without its profound flaws.
Case Study: The Cosmic Crisp®
The most famous successor is the Cosmic Crisp® (WA 38), developed by Washington State University. It is a direct cross of ‘Honeycrisp’ (for texture) and ‘Enterprise’ (for toughness). According to WSU, the Cosmic Crisp® is a grower’s dream: it is not susceptible to bitter pit or chilling injury and can be stored for 12 months or more.
But the most significant innovation is its business model. Unlike Honeycrisp, the Cosmic Crisp® is a “managed variety” or “club apple.” For its first decade, the right to grow it is exclusively licensed to growers in Washington State. This model allows WSU to control supply, prevent the price-crashing gluts of Honeycrisp, enforce quality standards, and fund a massive $10 million launch campaign, according to PCC Community Markets.
Innovation for the Northeast
For Vermonters, the most important innovations may be happening closer to home. Cornell University, home to the oldest apple breeding program in the country, is developing varieties specifically adapted for the Northeast’s climate.
In response to the demand for Honeycrisp-like apples, Cornell has released several new varieties. These include Pink Luster, a ‘Honeycrisp’ and ‘Gala’ cross, and Cordera. According to Cornell CALS, Cordera possesses a trait that is a potential game-changer for Vermont growers: genetic resistance to apple scab, a fungal disease that thrives in our wet springs. These new, open-release varieties give regional farmers a portfolio of modern apples that are actually designed for their specific challenges.
The Vermont Conundrum: A “Must-Have” for Survival
To understand the Honeycrisp in Vermont, you must first understand that our apple industry is not Washington’s. For much of the 20th century, Vermont had a strong wholesale market built on cold-hardy varieties like McIntosh and Cortland.
But according to VT Farm to Plate, that model collapsed under pressure from larger domestic and global producers. Vermont’s apple acreage was cut in half, falling from 3,500 acres in 2001 to just 1,700 by 2017.
The growers who survived were forced to pivot. They shifted away from the low-margin wholesale business to a high-margin model centered on direct-to-consumer sales: Pick-Your-Own (PYO) operations, farm stands, and agritourism.
In this new economic reality, the old ‘McIntosh’ is no longer enough to attract modern customers. Honeycrisp, with its powerful name recognition, became what the University of Vermont (UVM) Extension calls a “must-have variety for every Vermont orchard.”
The risk, however, is magnified for our smaller farms. A 20% crop loss to bitter pit might be a manageable hit for a 1,000-acre Washington farm, but for a 50-acre Vermont farm, it can be devastating. The reward, however, is also different. A Vermont grower selling directly at their farm stand captures the full retail value of that apple, bypassing the volatile wholesale market entirely.
The Path Forward: How Vermont Orchards Can Tame the “Diva”
Given this reality, Vermont’s growers are not just deciding what apple to plant; they are making a complex business calculation. The research points toward a diversified path forward, allowing Vermonters to make their own determination about the best solution for their farms.
The “Destination Crop” Strategy: Many farms can treat Honeycrisp as a strategic tool, not a primary crop. By planting a small, expertly managed block, they use the Honeycrisp name as a powerful marketing magnet to draw PYO customers. Those customers then fill their bags with other, more reliable and profitable varieties, and, just as importantly, buy high-margin items like cider, pies, and cider donuts.
The “Regional-Adapted” Strategy: Instead of battling the “diva,” growers can diversify by planting the new, cutting-edge varieties from Cornell. Apples like the scab-resistant Cordera are better suited to Vermont’s climate, easier to grow, and give orchards a unique story to tell—offering customers an exciting new apple they can’t find in a national supermarket.
The “Value-Added” Strategy: This strategy embraces the apple’s flaws. An apple with cosmetic bitter pit spots may be unmarketable as fresh fruit, but it still has all its flavor. This fruit can be channeled into high-end, value-added products. This is a perfect fit for Vermont’s booming craft beverage sector, which, according to VT Farm to Plate, grew from fewer than 10 cideries in 2010 to 24 by 2019. A premium, single-varietal Honeycrisp hard cider turns a potential liability into a stable, high-value product.
Ultimately, the Honeycrisp’s legacy is not just its crunch; it’s the change it forced. It shattered a stagnant industry that prioritized looks and logistics over flavor. Its very flaws forced breeders to create better, more resilient apples.
For Vermont, this challenging apple is the perfect symbol of modern, diversified farming. Success no longer comes from just growing a commodity. It comes from mastering a complex set of skills: expert horticulture, savvy marketing, and strategic business planning. The Honeycrisp forced Vermont’s orchards to innovate, and in doing so, has helped create a more resilient and dynamic local food system for all of us.