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MICHIGAN APPLE REPORT
‘A CELEBRATION IN YOUR MOUTH’
The local difference means more than just fewer miles to market. BY BOB JOHNSON
The moderating in uence of the Great Lakes creates a microclimate that is about as good as it gets for ripening Honeycrisp, Gala and Fuji apples.
“Michigan apples are grown on the west side of the state, near Lake Michigan,” says Trish Taylor, account manager for River Ridge Produce Marketing, Sparta, MI. “It gives them cool nights, hot days and good soil for growing apples.”
e locals have an a ection for these apples that runs deeper than a desire for the fruit grown by the farmer next door, or just down the road.
“Biting into a Michigan apple is more than eating a piece of fruit,” says Antonia Mascari, vice president of marketing at Applewood Fresh, Sparta, MI. “It’s ... the color you expect, the rmness in your hand, the crunch between your teeth, the celebration in your mouth.”
ese great-tasting apples are valued as local throughout much of the Midwest, and the Michigan Apple brand travels throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Above all else, the locals will tell you, it is hard to beat a Honeycrisp apple as grown under
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the climatic in uence of Lake Michigan.
“We really promote the Honeycrisp, both in bulk and in tote bags,” says Jim Weber, produce director at Brillion, WI-based Tadych’s Markets, an independent chain with six full-service supermarkets in Michigan and Wisconsin.“Werunadsforbothbulkandtote
bags of Honeycrisp from Michigan.”
A GOOD HARVEST YEAR
e size of the harvest depends on a number of weather factors, and all signs indi- cate 2019 will be a good year.
“Growers are feeling quite optimistic about the 2019 crop,” says Diane Smith, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, Lansing, MI.
Michigan is the third largest apple producing state, according to US Department of Agriculture statistics, at a smidge more than 25 million bushels a year. e harvest rebounded last year from a rough 2017 to approach the record of 1.28 billion pounds, which was set in 2016.
“ ere are many factors that can cause slight changes in crop size over the years,” says Smith. “Extreme cold, spring frosts, summer storms,
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHIGAN APPLE COMMITTEE
as well as various pests and diseases, can cause damage in orchards. On the other side of that coin, as growers continue to plant in high-den- sity blocks and adopt new growing technolo- gies, it will be possible to see increases in crop size into the future.”
According to the Apple Committee, the harvest begins with the Paula Reds and the Ginger Golds in late August. Harvesting continues all the way through the Romes, Ida Reds, and Braeburns into October.
Applewood Fresh co-owner Scott Swin- deman expects the company’s overall volume to be up 10% this year.
Another large shipper also expects to see good volumes, in particular — the prized Honeycrisp variety from Michigan orchards.
“We are expecting a huge shift forward in volume,” says Angela Sommers, marketing director at BelleHarvest, Belding, MI. “We now are estimated to have nearly three million cartons of packed fruit for the upcoming season. Honeycrisp volume throughout the state is down this year, however, we are thrilled to see that several of our growers were able to set a nice crop.”
BelleHarvest ships throughout the Western