Jazz apples and DreamWorks Animation teamed up for a wildly successful partnership this past spring with the cross promotion of the release of the film Spirit Untamed. The result was an unprecedented sales surge for Jazz thanks to a strong in-store and online presence.

Next Big Thing, a 60-member cooperative of commercial family growers, spread from Nova Scotia to Washington state, grows and markets managed varieties of apples, beginning with SweeTango.

Developed by the University of Minnesota and first introduced in 2009, the SweeTango is a premium apple variety that combines the Honeycrisp and Zestar! apple varieties.

This year marks the 11th anniversary that FirstFruits Marketing has held its annual Take a Bite Out of Hunger program, which seeks to feed the underserved and call attention to food insecurity in the country. Data from the USDA show that 11.8 percent of all U.S. households are considered food-insecure. Furthermore, one out of six households with children reported food insecurity at a higher rate than those without children.

A mild spring devoid of major weather events or freezes has set the stage for an outstanding 2021 apple crop at Hudson River Fruit Distributors.

Thanks to an increased volume of the Washington state-grown Cosmic Crisp, fans of the apple are still able to find them in grocery stores across the country. And to celebrate, the brand is launching new recipes, a retail promotion and a hot air balloon tour.

The U.S. Apple Association board of directors gave an enthusiastic go-ahead to hold the organization’s annual conference in-person this summer. The 126th annual Crop & Outlook Marketing Conference will take place Aug. 19-20 in Chicago. The two-day meeting will showcase diverse speakers and topics, growers and apple business leaders from across the nation, and the always anticipated crop forecast.