Nov 30, 2021

2021 Arctic apple harvest done, includes first Arctic Fuji crop

Okanagan Specialty Fruits announced Nov. 30 it has completed the harvest of its 2021 Arctic apple crop. Arctic apple varieties, which stay orchard fresh longer, are developed and grown by the company on its orchards located in Washington state. Arctic Golden, Arctic Granny and Arctic Fuji varieties were all harvested throughout the 1,350 acres of planted trees.

“This was a monumental harvest for Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF), and our largest ever,” Don Westcott, vice president of operations, sales and marketing for OSF, said in a news release. “It also marks the first harvest of our Arctic Fuji variety. The Arctic Fuji’s picked this year will be used for product testing and customer sampling. There’s been lots of anticipation from our customers to add a red-skinned apple to our product portfolio and we are extremely excited to bring the Fuji to market.”

Approximately 20,000 bins of Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny were harvested this season, or 17 million pounds. The Arctic apple crop came in at estimate and is of excellent quality, even with the unprecedented heat experienced this past summer.

“Our harvest wouldn’t be possible without our great orchard staff,” said Tony DiMaria, OSF’s orchard operations manager. “Harvest is always a favorite time of year, as we finally get to watch a year of hard work come to fruition.”

Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) is a vertically integrated company specializing in the development, growing, processing, and marketing of novel tree fruit varieties developed through bioengineering. Based in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada, OSF was founded in 1996 and acquired by an affiliate of Third Security, LLC in 2020. OSF’s flagship product is its Arctic apple varieties. Arctic apples provide a sustainable solution to less food waste and improved apple consumption.

For consumer information, visit www.arcticapples.com; for company information and partnership opportunities, visit www.okspecialtyfruits.com.