Growers Optimistic For Apple Crop
"These are all galas not too sweet," says Jeff Rippon.
Farmer Jeff Rippon is making final preparations before he begins picking his first apples of the season,.
He's been a grower for over 20 years, and seen the impact weather can have on a harvest- but says this year things are looking ripe.
"The price of apples right now is really good and demand is really good- Washington State's had a lot of hail so farmers are..well they are happy but they coulda been a lot happier," says Rippon.
Farmers say the recent hail storms damaged about 10 percent of the crop--many of those apples will now be used as juice.
More than half of the apples grown in the country come out of Washington State- making it the top apple grower in the nation.
Growers in our region are optimistic this harvest will be very successful because competition is low and the size of the crop is very high.
And farmers markets are benefiting as well.
A bumper crop brings in more product giving customers more to choose from-
Trudy ritchie: "Probably five different varieties and I'd like to have fujis- honeycrisps so other than that more- different varieties of it.
Jeff Rippon will begin picking Gala apples tomorrow- and says this crop is not only gonna look better, its going to taste better. -
"The quality is going to be really good because we've had a lot of hot sunny days and that produces a real sweet apple so if you can get past the hail- taste should be really good."