Fruit Growers News

2010 apple crop to be smaller than average

By Matt Milkovich, Managing Editor   The size of the U.S. apple crop in 2010 will be 221.5 million bushels. That’s the estimate the U.S. Apple Association (USApple) came up with Aug. 20, during its annual Apple Crop Outlook & Marketing Conference in Chicago. USApple’s estimate for this year’s crop is smaller than USDA’s estimate of 225.6 million bushels, which was announced the week before. Both the USDA and USApple estimates are well under 2009’s actual harvest of 236 million bushels, and are smaller than the five-year average of 229 million bushels. Despite the small crop, speakers at the conference expected a strong market season and a successful year for the U.S. apple industry. Processing prices have been trending downward, but export markets are growing. Apples are the country’s No. 1 fruit export, said Mark Seetin, USApple’s director of regulatory and industry affairs. In 2009,…  » Read more

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Tall or super spindle? A matter of space

The difference between tall spindle and super spindle is simply a matter of space. Tall spindle trees have 3 feet to 1 meter of space between them, whereas super spindle trees are laid out with no more than 2 feet between them. The additional trees packed in to super spindle blocks make the tree densities much higher. Seeing these systems firsthand during the International Fruit Tree Association’s (IFTA) tour of western New York in July, it was clear that growers are finding ways to make both systems work for them. The yields produced by a super spindle system are marginally better than with tall spindle if, and only if, the grower has the right kind of management in place to handle the system, according to Cornell University researchers. The added expense of growing a super spindle orchard can be somewhat negated by growing your own…  » Read more

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Labor housing in the Empire state

By Derrek Sigler, Assistant Editor   Like many fruit and vegetable farmers across the country, growers in New York state often have to rely on migrant workers to grow and harvest their crops. According to the New York State Department of Health, approximately 8,000 migrant farm workers annually assist farm owners in the cultivation, planting, harvesting and packaging of agricultural products throughout the state. Like growers in other states, New York growers struggle with the challenges of supplying adequate housing for those workers. The first of those challenges is getting approval to house workers. Before growers can build or even maintain housing, they have to submit a request to their local township planning board with a complete site plan. The board will then schedule a public hearing. For some growers, this is enough of a roadblock. “Even in the smallest townships and areas we consider…  » Read more

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Blueberry exposition coming to Grand Rapids

By Matt Milkovich, Managing Editor   The National Blueberry Exposition is coming back to Grand Rapids, Mich., this fall. The trade show, breakfast, reception and concert will be held Oct. 12-13 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and the DeVos Place convention center. The exposition will run concurrently with the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) and U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) fall meetings at the Amway Grand. MBG Marketing (also known as The Blueberry People) is organizing the exposition, the first since 2005. MBG is a producer-owned blueberry marketing cooperative based in Grand Junction, Mich. MBG will turn 75 next year, and the exposition is meant to kick off its anniversary celebration, said Lorrie Ford Merker, the cooperative’s director of grower and industry relations. MBG’s annual meeting (for members only) will be held the morning of Oct. 12. The trade show’s two days will culminate…  » Read more

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