Latest News From Eastern Apples

Like many produce companies, Rice Fruit’s staff felt the unprecedented challenge and stress to daily life that came with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cutting the Washington state apple forecast by nearly 11% from USDA's August estimate, the U.S. Apple Association's forecast of the U.S. crop reveals a big divergence in expectations between the two estimates.

The New York Apple Association is hitting promotions hard this season in these ways.

Kaari Stannard is the The Packer’s 2020 Apple Woman of the Year.

Based in the south-central Pennsylvania region of Gardners, Rice Fruit Co. is tackling projects, planning for new initiatives and reaching out across North America to offer more to customers.

The New York Apple Association and its president and CEO, Cynthia Haskins, have been recognized for several awards in 2018 and 2019.

As the New York Apple Association celebrates 25 years, it’s coming out with new merchandising materials and marketing strategies for its more than 600 growers across six regions and more than 50,000 acres of orchards.

Designer apples are having a moment.

Fowler Farms, Wolcott, N.Y., will see an increase in Honeycrisp and SweeTango volume this season.

Crist Bros. Orchards of Walden, N.Y., is investing in Crunch Time apple varieties RubyFrost and SnapDragon, said Joel Crist.

Sun Orchard Fruit Co., Burt, N.Y., will offer more Pazazz apples this year, said Tim Mansfield, sales and marketing director with the Burt, N.Y.-based company.

The New York Apple Association is going to be unveiling a new logo by October, said Cynthia Haskins, president and CEO of the Fishers-based group.

The biggest market concern for Eastern apple shippers going into the 2018-19 season may be related to export market opportunities.

Consumers will have a bigger bite of New York apple varieties SnapDragon and RubyFrost this season.

Competing against a rapidly expanding group of managed, niche varieties and trendier varieties, some traditional or legacy Eastern apple varieties are getting weaker and weaker in the retail market, shippers believe.

Hess Bros. Fruit Co., Lancaster, Pa., is expecting close to a full crop this fall, said Andy Figart, sales and marketing manager.

Eastern apple grower-shippers report very clean fruit and crop output that may be up slightly from a year ago.

Larger fruit size is the dominant theme for the upcoming Eastern apple season.

Two of New York’s newest apple varieties are on the cusp of major market gains, said Mark Russell, who helps lead Crunch Time Apple Growers, a grower cooperative with exclusive rights to the Cornell University-develop

Eastern apple shippers say the export market is an important outlet, and its value is only increasing.

Apple grower-shippers in Pennsylvania are venturing into a new marketing realm this season, having voted to replace the old Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Program with a new Pennsylvania Apple Program.

Apple growers and shippers in the eastern U.S., and specifically New York, are trying to build further on an already-strong foundation of foodservice sales.

Business updates from companies featured in The Packer's Eastern Apples section

This year, East is West, where apples are concerned.

Whether through club varieties like New York's SnapDragon and RubyFrost or more-established commercial entries like Honeycrisp, gala, ginger gold and fuji, Eastern apple growers say they have apple flavors to matc

Wolcott, N.Y.-based Crunch Time Apple Growers has added Hess Bros. in Leola, Pa., and Niagara Fresh, Burt, N.Y., to its sales network, said Mark Russell, chairman of the marketing committee with Crunch Time.