10 Worcester Business Journal | September 18, 2017 | wbjournal.com
Following a dreadful 2016, local farms hope a
better apple crop leads to increased business
Apples booming
following a bust
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Bumper crop
The 2017 Massachusetts apple harvest is estimated to be the largest in 10
years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
BY ZACHARY COMEAU
Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer
2016 stunted by drought, late freeze
According to the National Weather
Service, last year's precipitation was the
fourth lowest since 1997 in the
Worcester area at 40.93 inches, seven
inches lower than the 20-year mean.
Beginning in June, more than 90 per-
cent of the state was under some kind
of drought classification. By August, the
beginning of apple season, more than
60 percent of the state was under a
severe drought, according to the U.S.
I
t's just about time for scarves, pumpkin everything, football
and of course apple picking at your local orchard, and this
year, farmers are promising an abundance of apples.
"Nice and juicy," Charles Koshivas said of the apples at
Fairmount Fruit Farm in Franklin.
Apples of all varieties are looking great, he said. There has been
plenty of water this year compared to last year, which Koshivas said
is helping the fruit to grow larger and juicier.
Local farmers agree: last year was not a good growing season.
Gerard Beirne, owner of Berlin
Orchards, picks apples at the orchard.
Thanks to the abundance of rain,
they're much larger than last year.
0
10
20
30
40
50
2007 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17
Apple production (In millions of pounds)
29M
46M
P H O T O S / E D D C O T E
