Photo by Tom Rivers – Apples grow in this orchard in Gaines earlier this week.

Press release, NY Apple Association

FISHERS – New York state apple growers are back, and they mean business – lots more business this year because of a bigger, better crop with more of the varieties consumers love.

That’s the trade report from a conference call of leading apple growers from across the state that was held July 25. The call was hosted by New York Apple Association, which issued a statement today about the impending big crop.

Growers said this year’s crop would be 100 percent or more than their typical crop due to near-perfect growing conditions, and recent new plantings now coming into production.

This year’s harvest is expected to begin on time and proceed on schedule, with the first shipments of apples arriving at market mid-August. Fruit size and sugars should be excellent as growers have enjoyed close to perfect growing conditions this year – strong bloom, good pollination and plenty of sunlight, heat and moisture.

New York state apple shippers will have more supplies of popular varieties including HoneyCrisp, Gala, McIntosh and Empire because of new plantings over the past 5 to 6 years that are now figuratively – and literally – bearing fruit.

“We want retailers to know that we have more than rebounded from last year, thanks to much more benevolent weather and smart growers who’ve been planting more of what consumers want,” said NYAA President Jim Allen, who hosted the grower conference call. “Call your shippers today to start planning your New York state apple promotions.”

Allen noted that harvest bins, packing capacity and storage space are sufficient to allow an orderly progression to market.

NYAA’s grower leaders forecasted the 2013 New York apple crop will easily meet the state’s 5-year average production of 29 million bushels, and recent plantings now coming into production may push that to exceed 30 million bushels. This year’s good-news crop comes after early-season freezes last year decimated much of the state’s crop in the bud. The 2012 crop was estimated at 17.1 million bushels.

Growers are happy this year, and they are certain retailer and consumers will be too.

“Our retailers saw what was possible last year even with a small crop, prices were strong,” said Allen. “The New York apple industry can’t wait to see what we can do together with them this year.”

To build buyer demand for the 2013 crop, NYAA has been advertising all year long to retailers. Taglines have included “from blossom to awesome” and “live from New York!”

Courtesy of Farm Credit – Farm Credit East’s 2013 interns include front row, from left: Samantha Graf, Christian Carrion and Kaitlyn Miller of Albion. Back row: Alyssa Guilianelli, Darren Fuller, Gregory Murray, Casey Wells and Ashley Simmons.

Press release, Farm Credit East

BATAVIA – Farm Credit East continues its successful college intern program for college students in 2013 with eight interns focused on careers in agriculture.

The group includes Kaitlyn Miller of Albion, who is working out of Farm Credit’s Batavia office. She formatted all the policies and executive orders for Farm Credit’s EastNet – the organization’s Internet site. She also updated the Young, Beginner and Small Farmer Report that is submitted annually to Farm Credit Administration.

Miller will be returning to St. John Fisher this fall for her senior year. She is the daughter of Richard and Sharon Miller.

The 12-week internship opportunity is offered to college juniors each summer. Interns are placed throughout Farm Credit East branch offices. During the experience, students earn an inside look into Farm Credit East and the various careers available by shadowing employees of all different roles. Each intern also completes a major project, many of which fulfill business plan initiatives. These projects contribute valuable information to be used in reports and future planning.

“Our internship program serves as an excellent recruiting tool to maintain Farm Credit East’s commitment to the Northeast agriculture industry,” said Bill Lipinski, CEO of Farm Credit East. “Our internship advisors work hard to put together a well-rounded experience so that each intern is exposed to agriculture native to that area.”

Besides Miller, this year’s Farm Credit East team of eight interns included: Christian Carrion, Cornell University; Darren Fuller, Hamilton College; Samantha Graf, University of Connecticut; Alyssa Guilianelli, Delaware Valley College; Gregory Murray, Cornell University; Ashley Simmons, SUNY Cobleskill; and Casey Wells, Western New England University.

Farm Credit East is the largest lender to Northeast agriculture. It implements the internship program for individuals working towards degrees in agribusiness, accounting, finance or similar fields.

For more information on the Farm Credit East internship program, please contact Briana Beebe at Briana.Beebe@FarmCreditEast.com.

Photos courtesy of Ingrid Lamont – Cornell University and New York Apple Growers LLC today unveiled the names of two new apple varieties in Geneva at Cornell’s Agricultural Experiment Station.

GENEVA – Cornell University and New York Apple Growers LLC have unveiled the names of two new apples that the fruit industry believes will be popular with consumers and profitable for growers.

SnapDragon is a cross between Honeycrisp and NY 752. The new spicy-sweet flavored apple has Honeycrisp’s juiciness and firmness, but doesn’t have that apple’s production problems. Honeycrisp can be vulnerable to seasonal pathogens that cause defects and the apple is tricky to store over winter.

RubyFrost is a cross between Braeburn with Autumn Crisp. That new apple will be 95 percent red.

The new varieties are grown on 930 acres in apple-growing regions throughout the state. When the first mature crop hits the market in 2015 there will be about 930,000 bushels of the two varieties combined.

The trees are still young and aren’t yet producing a full crop. But there will be enough to introduce SnapDragon and RubyFrost to the public through farm markets this year.

The New York Apple Growers are working with Cornell’s apple breeding company to make the new varieties exclusive to NY growers. Cornell will receive royalties from tree and fruit sales, and those funds will support the breeding program, helping to fund a pipeline of more new varieties in the future.