September 2021 - 1

Mechanical strawberry
harvest got Michigan
boost
A Q&A with Anna
Wallis of Michigan
State University
6
10
18
Biological industry
maturing after decades
of change
September 2021 | Volume 60 |
Issue 9
Crunch Time Apple Growers
expand retail outlets, growing
acres for club apples
Brett Kast with his sons in an orchard during a bygone harvest. Brantley is now aged 5 and Easton is now 3. Photos: Crunch Time Apple Growers
By Stephen Kloosterman
Associate Editor
Brett Kast, a fourth-generation
grower near the town of Albion in
New York state, likes the way that
SnapDragon and RubyFrost apples
redden and ripen during the middle of
the harvest season.
They're in little danger of a late-season
freeze and dodge other issues that
early-harvesting varieties have. And the
apples naturally grow well because the
cultivars were developed in the state by
Cornell University.
But Kast and the others in the Crunch
Time Apple Growers collective that
grows and markets the apples aren't the
only ones who like the apples. He said
consumers remain dedicated to the two
trademarked apples that first debuted in
2013. The acres of orchards growing the
apples, as well as the retail spaces where
they are sold, continue to expand.
" I always thought it was just the farmers
that would get excited when they knew it
was almost time for their favorite variety
to harvest, " Kast said. " But folks are
excited about it and looking forward to
when they can see it again on the stands. "
A growers' apple
Kast Farms is a diversified operation
of about 4,500 acres with crops ranging
from apples, cherries, field corn,
green beans, sweet corn, wheat, barley
and soybeans. The farm grows about
25 acres of SnapDragon and 25 acres
of RubyFrost.
As Kast Farms' orchard manager,
Brett Kast has had a chance to see how
the cultivars perform. He is a co-owner
of the company, along with his brother,
John Kast and father David Kast (who
is semi-retired). John Kast is the field
crop manager.
" Together with our General Manager
Gary Davy, the three of us handle day-today
operations of the farm, " he said. The
fifth generation of growers are well on
See CRUNCH, page 5
USApple: 244M bushels, down 5.7%
By Gary Pullano
Editor
Total U.S. Apple Association
production estimate for 2021-2022:
243.7 million bushels.
If the crop hits that number, it would
be down 5.7% from last year, 9.4% from
the five-year average. The association's
estimate came in 8.2% below the USDA's
prediction of 265.4 million bushels
(fresh, processing and non-sold).
The announcement concluded the 126th
annual USApple Outlook Conference,
held in-person with more than 230
participants in Chicago, Aug. 18-19.
The New York apple crop (30 million,
42-pound bushels) is expected to
be off by 9% from last year and
down 6% from the five-year average.
Pennsylvania's crop (10.5 million) is
projected to be down 5.8% from a year
ago and 8.4% from the five-year average.
Virginia (4.75 million) comes in
22.4% below 2020 and 3.7% from the
five-year average.
In Michigan, the crop (18.25 million)
is forecast to decline 17.3% from a year
ago and down 26.3% from last year.
California's crop (4.4 million) will
be down 31.7% from 2020 and should
decline 26.8% over the five-year average.
Oregon (4.1 million) is slated to
remain steady with a 1.1% dip over the
five-year average.
Washington state (157.3 million), the
biggest producer in the U.S., should
come in 4.5% below a year ago and
8.4% under the five-year average.
USApple estimates the remaining apple
producing states will produce 14.4 million
bushels, about even with the previous year
See APPLES, page 20

September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2021