New York City may be the original ‘Big Apple’ but the entire state of New York is worthy of the name too, based on the New York Apple Association’s (NYAA) recent fall harvest estimate. NYAA forecasts New York apple growers will produce 31 million 42-lb.cartons of apples this fall, an estimate that is up slightly over last year and on par with the state’s five-year average.
“New York apple lovers know our apples taste great but what they may not realize is just how big our state industry is in the larger picture,” said NYAA President Cynthia Haskins. “New York is the second largest apple producing state in the nation, and the largest east of the Mississippi but that’s not all. Our distinctive flavor gives us a competitive advantage and it is produced by the ideal growing conditions in New York which are unique to our state.”
Apple production in New York takes place on 41,000 acres spanning the state -- in orchards near you – where hundreds of varieties are grown. It is likely more varieties than are grown here than anywhere else in the country and most varieties are only available at farm markets and you-pick operations. A diverse array of New York varieties is also available in retail stores. These include iconic favorites like New York McIntosh; legendary “born in New York” varieties like Empire and Cortland; the popular Honeycrisp and Gala; and exciting new managed varieties like SweeTango® and the two ‘exclusive to New York’ varieties, RubyFrost® and SnapDragon®.
To encourage New Yorkers to enjoy all the apple industry in New York state has to offer, NYAA maintains a locator map on its website, www.nyapplecountry.com, which finds orchards, you-pick operations and cideries by zip code.
NYAA will be engaging with people across New York this fall with pop-up exhibits at Green Markets throughout New York City in September and October. The organization is also sponsoring the Big Apple Crunch, a statewide event involving public schools and millions of New Yorkers biting into a New York Apple at precisely 2 p.m. on Thursday, October 25. NYAA partners with the FarmOn! Foundation to support the event and recently distributed a variety of posters to 780 school districts throughout the state to raise awareness around New York apples and apple products.