Good Weather Equates to Fine Apple Crop in Pa.

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

Apple pie on your mind? Maybe some apple dumplings?

There should be plenty of big, bright and locally grown apples for whatever your specialty.

Reports from Pennsylvania’s largest apple growing area, Adams County, indicate that this year’s crop is going to be a plentiful one.

“We have an excellent variety of highly colored, large apples,” said Tara Baugher, tree fruit educator at Penn State Cooperative Extension in Adams County.

Good late season weather conditions, including nice, cool nights, which can add to a crop’s color and taste, have contributed to the good crop. Abundant moisture over the summer also helped.

Around 70 percent of the state’s apple crop has been harvested, according to the latest USDA Crop Progress Report, released this past Monday.

The USDA’s apple crop forecast, which was released early in August, predicted the crop to be about 11.6 million bushels, up 11 percent from this year.

Pennsylvania is the fourth largest apple producing state.

John Rice of Rice Fruit Company, which grows 800 acres of “fresh variety” apples and peaches in Adams County, said along with conditions being ideal for growing apples, there is plenty of help to go around.

“We actually had to turn people way. The labor was good for us,” Rice said. “I’m sure this is related to the economy.”

The peach harvest, Rice said, was also good, with some good fruit size, although some acres were damaged by hail storms.

With a plentiful crop, it’s as good a year as ever for the National Apple Harvest Festival, which opened last weekend and continues today and tomorrow at the South Mountain Fairgrounds.

Bob Tate, organizer of the festival, said he expects anywhere between 80,000 and 90,000 people to visit the festival.

This is the 45th year for the festival, which is put on by the Upper Adams Jaycees.

You can sample anything and everything having to do with apples at the festival, including apple butter, apple cider and even apple syrup.

Crafts are also a big draw, along with the numerous musicians who come and perform. Six stages have been set up for musical performances.

More than 5,000 bushels of apples are being used for the festival. All of the apples come from local growers.

Visitors have a chance to see apple cider made in front of their eyes as well as applesauce. There are also tours of local orchards.

The festival runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $9.

“I think it’s a good value for the money,” Tate said. “There is a lot of different things to do.”