According to a Pennsylvania Farm Bureau spokesman, the dry and hot summer, which produced near drought conditions in Central Pennsylvania, has likely not affected the apple growing business in the Valley.
"Overall, we are hearing positive news from apple growers across Pennsylvania with a successful harvest of a wide variety of apples," said Mark O'Neill, of the PFB. "The only complaint we've heard from a few growers is that some of their apples may not have grown as large as they would have liked, due to the conditions throughout much of the summer. These complaints, however, have been limited and have not hurt their ability to sell fresh apples. In addition, farmers say the apples taste great and are plentiful."
All that is good news for the Pennsylvania economy, which ranks fourth in the United States in total apple production, according to the latest figures available from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. All 67 counties in the Commonwealth grow apples on 19,000 acres. The apple industry contributes $80 million to the state's economy.
Pennsylvania farmers produce about 11 million bushels (or 440 million pounds) of apples on average per year, O'Neill said. "But It's too early to tell if we will meet the 11 million bushel average this year."
Apples are still being picked on Pennsylvania farms and some apple growers with farm markets are still offering "pick-your-own" apples through the end of October, O'Neill added.
Source: dailyitem.com
