Equipment

Great Grapes: Harvest Should Yield Fine Wine

Bob Betzler and his family live in California, the heart of America's wine country, and didn't have a clue about northern Michigan's burgeoning grape and wine industry. Traverse City Record-Eagle more »

Machinery Makes for Better Grape Picking, Wine

The oversized, two-story tractor motors up and down the hilly slopes of scenic Old Mission Peninsula, knocking grapes from vines before hoisting them by conveyor into bins atop the machine. Traverse City Record-Eagle more »

Dry Summer Means Banner Apple Harvest

The dry summer has made this year's apple harvest a banner crop. WCVB more »

Pit Spit, Redhaven Heritage Give Farm Market a Story To Tell

How’s this for publicity? On the first Saturday of every July, the International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship shines a spotlight on Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm and its summer cherry harvest. Competitors come from all over the world... more »

Apple Harvest Makes Growers Happy

On the heels of one of Maine's best apple seasons last year, Maine's orchardists are saying this year's crop is equal in excellence. Bangor Daily News more »

Grape Harvest Excites Local Winemakers

As ominous gray clouds recently drifted down onto the grapevines of Woodside Vineyards, winemaker Brian Caselden said he wasn't too worried about the rain those clouds carried. San Mateo County Times more »

With Few Local Apples, Orchard Owner Selling Apples from Virginia

Although Tennessee's apple crop was almost completely lost due to a severe freeze that struck the state in April, apple growers did manage to harvest a small crop. Herald Citizen more »

Local Farmers Optimistic About Apple Harvest

John King worried about his apple crop when the weather turned cold in early April, then fretted some more as his fruit baked during a dry, hot summer. Traverse City Record-Eagle more »

Despite Varied Blueberry Reports, Average Maine Harvest Predicted

Despite varied reports on this year's wild blueberry crop, the harvest likely will yield an average crop that could be larger than earlier industry estimates. Bangor Daily News more »

Writer Finds Apple Picking Not as Easy as it Looks

Grand Rapids freelancer Bob Darrow has written about orchard owners who cannot find enough help to bring in this year's apple harvest -- Michigan's largest and most valuable fruit crop. Grand Rapids Press more »