Bumper crop expected as apple harvest begins

KENNEWICK — Washington apple growers are expecting a bumper crop this year as workers begin harvesting the fruit from trees around the state.

Hail in July tempered initial expectations for a record-setting 120 million bushels of fresh apples. But this year’s crop of apples is still expected to be the state’s second largest, said Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission.

The amount of fresh apples harvested is expected to be nearly 109 million bushels, the Tri-City Herald reported. It takes about 43 pounds to make a bushel.

Apple harvest runs into November, with different varieties being picked as harvest continues.

“The fruit quality looks good, fruit size looks good,” said David Douglas, a principal owner of Douglas Fruit Co. of Pasco. The company packs 10 varieties of apples grown by members of the Douglas family and other independent growers.

He noted that hail affected almost every apple growing region in the state. Despite that, it looks like a good marketing season for apples, Douglas said. Prices are good.

Fruit damaged by hail will go directly from the orchards to processors, said Douglas, who is also vice president of the Washington Apple Commission board.

Even those apples that make it into the fresh packing plant won’t head to grocery stores or be exported as fresh apples. They’ll end up as juice concentrate or peeled and sold as food ingredients.

“We are trying to grow fruit that will be sold on the fresh market,” because the returns are greater, Douglas told the Tri-City Herald.

Washington is the top apple grower in the nation, representing about 60 percent of U.S. fresh apples. Apples contribute about $7 billion to the state’s economy each year, Fryhover said.

Statewide, there are about 162,000 acres of apple orchards, mostly following the rivers of Eastern Washington.

Growers like to color-pick apples, but they may tell workers to pick all the apples on a tree at once, depending on labor availability and weather, Douglas said.

Once picked, an apple enters Douglas Fruit Co.’s packing plant in a bin. It’s washed, waxed and stickered and then packed in a cardboard boxes and cooled down. It will be transported by refrigerated truck or an ocean container depending on where it is headed.

Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious and Granny Smith represent the largest volume, Douglas said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.