With the possibility of one the state's biggest apple crops on the horizon, Washington's apple growers are bracing for near-record production this year. With many other apple-growing regions throughout the United States, and around the world, poised to have big years, Washington's growers are preparing to move lots of apples this season.“We're early with harvesting this season,” noted Randy Steensma of Honey Bear Tree Fruit Company. “That's just a result of the bloom dates we had. An early spring translates into an early season.” About a week into harvesting, he explained that night temperatures have fallen, resulting in good coloring. That's a change from the higher night temperatures that the state's growers dealt with earlier this summer.
Another issue the state's growers have to contend with is the large amount of fruit that will likely be picked this year. Early estimates put this year's apple crop in Washington above last year's, and growers expect this year's crop to be reach upwards of 140 million boxes. Production of that size, especially considering competition from other states, poses some challenges.
“Washington is the largest producer of apples, but we always have competition,” said Steensma. “Growers in eastern states are closer to big population centers, so they get the local customers. But they tend to grow small and medium sizes of apples, so we dominate with the larger sizes. Also, we tend to take over in the spring and summer, when their supplies run out.” But while the state's growers deal with how to market a large crop, they also have to figure out how to actually pick it, pack it and ship it.
“There are a lot of nerves here in Washington about the prospective record crop we're all talking about,” said Sky Johnson of Borton Fruit. “There's a little bit of bumping into each other in terms of labor. Nobody really has a good grasp on what it's going to take to have such a big crop.” Aside from picking the crop, the large volume of fruit will also tax the logistics system that takes apples from the orchards to consumers. In that area, Johnson believes growers who have a robust and efficient distribution system will have an edge this year.
“You have to think about how increased volume will put a strain on trucks,” said Johnson. “With 20 million additional boxes, there could be problems getting trucks in, turned around and moving. We recognized there could be bottlenecks there, so Borton has focused on keeping the trucks moving, since trucking is such an integral part of moving such a big crop.” Another part is finding markets for such big volume. With more supplies of fruit, the worry is that prices will get very low. The challenge is to find a way to market the crop so that it's favorable for growers, retailers and consumers.
“One thing to keep an eye on is how the introduction of new varieties can stabilize prices,” said Johnson. “Those new varieties can help growers get good returns. There's going to be a lot of fruit this season, and that should be favorable for retailers and consumers, because there's going to be a lot of fruit in front of them.”