Local farmer reports abundant fruit production
“It is another good crop. I think there are more apples planted, so during years the weather is favourable, we should have more apples,” said Richard Friske, owner and operator at Friske Orchards in rural Charlevoix.
And he’s got more apples.
“Our Honeycrisp is probably our most outstanding variety this year,” Friske said. “McIntosh are also very good and Galas are exceptionally heavy across the state, and they are here, too.”
That’s reflected across Michigan, too.
The Michigan Apple Committee estimates approximately 28.74 million bushels of apples will be harvested this year, in line with last year’s record-setting 30 million bushels, or 1.26 billion pounds. Michigan is second only to Washington in apple production in the United States.
“Many factors have contributed to this large crop,” said Diane Smith, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee. “Great weather this past spring and summer, including cool nights, plenty of rain as well as a good amount of sunshine certainly helped.”
Friske said it wasn’t all sunshine, though.
“We lost 4,000-5,000 apple trees to the cold last winter,” he said. “We will replant those as soon as possible. We’ve got trees coming to replant next spring. That will impact our production for a couple of years, but our customers won’t notice any difference.”
In fact, expectations are that Michigan will in future years grow more and more apples than ever before — including northwest Lower Michigan.
“More efficient apple orchards are growing up,” Friske said.
That’s an observation many in the state’s apple industry predicted would materialize, officials said.
“With high-density plantings (approximately 1,000 trees per acre) and advancements in technology, Michigan is going to continue to produce a larger quantity of apples. We are also seeing great quality and size,” Smith said.
There are about 9.2 million apple trees in commercial production covering about 36,500 acres on 850 family-run farms in Michigan. About 40 percent of Michigan apples are sold fresh, while the other 60 percent are processed into other products, according to the Michigan Apple Committee.
More information about the state’s growing apple industry is available at www.michiganapples.com.
