Washington Apple Adjustment Pt 2
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. The combination of strong winds and wildfire smoke have caused the estimates for this year’s Washington apple crop to be lowered.
Toni Lynn Adams, with the Washington Apple Commission, says the original numbers were slightly above last year’s totals, which looked pretty good …
ADAMS … “August is the very first real stab at trying to figure out what the season going to look like. It always gets fine-tuned as we move farther into harvest. So, we were, of course, expecting some adjustments, but the weather events really kind of impacted on a higher level than we had been expecting.”
As a result, Adams says growers lost more of their apple crop than expected …
ADAMS … “Based on grower reports, we’re hearing expectations of a 5-to-10% reduction in crop volume. And, then an official estimate will be released, I believe, in October from the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. And, they will have a clear picture of the total impact. These are initial estimates based on growers reporting what they’re observing in their own orchards.”
And, Adams says that will vary depending on what region the orchard is in …
ADAMS … “It does vary by location so that 5-to-10% is kind of an average kind of across all the different regions to give a clear picture on the total Washington crop, but there are areas where the percentage is closer to maybe 15-20, possibly even 30%.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on the downward adjustment on Washington’s apple crop.
