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Attention apple lovers: Now is sweet time to buy

Apple business 2010 could be one of Ohio’s more robust years

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By Kelly Mori, Staff Writer 8:23 PM Saturday, September 4, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — “Get them before their gone” is a catchy advertising phrase, but when local apple farmers say it, it’s no gimmick.

An early spring and a hot, late summer have caused this year’s apple crop to mature weeks ahead of schedule, said James (Huck) Beatty, of Huck’s Apple Orchard and Farm. That means if apple lovers wait until the cool nights of late September to pick their favorite apples or to pick up some fresh cider, they’ll be left out in the cold.

For the apple business 2010 could be one of Ohio’s better years, said Bill Dodd, president of Ohio Fruit Growers Marketing Association. The estimated yield for the state, which is the 10th largest apple producer in the country, is about 2.6 million bushels. Last year, which was considered a very good year, produced 2.75 million bushels he said. Not only is the harvest plentiful, “this heat is really sweetening up the apples.”

The heat has also caused early drop and that’s a problem for farmers, who by regulation, cannot sell apples that fall on the ground.

“I’ve got apples dropping all over the place” Beatty said. “It’s not just me, I’ve talked to other orchards and they’re seeing the same thing.”

Mark Reaver of Reaver Farms in South Charleston owns one of those other orchards. He, too, is experiencing early dropped fruit.

“The (harvest) time between varieties is not spread out this year,” Reaver said. “I planned my trees to spread out so I wouldn’t have to be harvesting all the varieties at once,” he said, “But the early spring, I guess, is what sped the cycle up.”

The “no-drop” policy also applies to cider — which is especially problematic for Beatty who uses multiple varieties of apples for his “secret recipe” cider. His customers don’t expect his cider until the third week of September, but with the early drop he’ll be making it early. With a short shelf life he worries that his customers won’t know his cider is early.

The farmers are quick to admit they worry about their bottom line but they also worry about their regular customers who have counted on them for their favorite varieties.

For example, Galas — normally harvested around the 24th of September — have already been picked, Beatty said.

“I had people in here last week looking for McIntosh,” he said. “Those have already come and gone.”

Apple farming is a year-long process that has a very short harvest season. A number of factors can destroy a crop. Local farms have experienced a couple of them recently.

“In 2007 there was a late frost, “which pretty much wiped out everything,” Reaver said. In 2008, Hurricane Ike blew through the area knocking down more than 70 percent of the crop.

This year could be a good one since the early harvest allows the farmers to sell their fruit early. But they need to get the word out, Dodd said.

“It’s a good-news bad-news situation,” he said. “Our best marketing season is September and October so if your Galas are early it gives you extra time to market them.

“The bad news is the early harvest could catch our customers off guard.”

Dodd suggested that customers call their favorite grower to find out what varieties are available and store hours. Many local orchards, which normally have limited hours during early September, are starting their fall store hours early, he said.

Contact this reporter  at (937) 328-0347 or kmori@coxohio.com.