“I am humbled by the opportunity to be the chairman of the New York Apple Association,” said Oakes. LynOaken Farms sells apples to retailers and schools and is actively involved in the hard cider industry.
The New York Apple Association is a nonprofit trade association representing more than 500 commercial apple growers in New York State. Its mission is to increase consumer demand for New York apples through promotion, marketing and communications. The NYAA has 15 board members. Four new members — Kenneth Bowman, Kristen DeMarree, Carrie Wafler and Kent Schwab — recently joined the NYAA board.
The change in the board comes right before the start of the apple harvesting in the Empire State. Haskins explained that the harvest begins in the Hudson Valley and immediate surrounding areas about the third week of August. The harvest kicks off in central and western New York a week or two later, and shortly after in the northeastern New York-Lake Champlain region.
“Early season varieties like Paula Red and Ginger Gold apples kick off the year with Zestar, JonaMac and Galas immediately following,” said Haskins. “At the heels of those varieties are Honeycrisp, Cortland, McIntosh, Empire and Macoun and New York-grown SnapDragon, Evercrisp and SweeTango apple varieties. Fuji and Ruby Frost are harvested from the latter part of October to the first part of November depending on weather.”
Haskins added that the NYAA reports that many of the apple growers in New York State have invested in state-of-the-art packing lines, and others have built new facilities over the last five years.
“It has been quite impressive to witness the innovation of the New York apple growers and it is equally as impressive to see the continued adoption of sustainable practices to ensure the longevity of family orchards and economic viability of their communities,” she noted.
Haskins was also quick to add that New York’s unique weather is perfect for growing apples. “Sunny summer days, crisp fall nights, rich glacial soils, and abundant water resources grow healthy orchards,” she said. “Computer imaging software gives growers the power to obtain real-time counts of buds and blooms so trees can be pruned for optimal crop-load management leading to better fruit size monitoring, smarter work in the orchard and higher annual yields.”
Oakes said that this year the NYAA expects production to be around 32.5 million bushels and maybe upward of 32.7 million bushels. “Sizing is coming along, and we expect a good range of sizes for retailers and foodservice markets like schools,” he noted.
The NYAA team is actively working on upcoming fall media, retail and foodservice promotional plans and working closely with sourcing partners on customizing promotions.
NYAA is designing new single-unit display shipper, variety and category price cards, newly designed paper totes available through participating packers, and shippers. The newly designed packaging will be made available along with the popular plastic tote, pouches and poly bags the industry has come to count on.
Geotargeting digital advertising will continue to play a significant role in the promotion of New York apples along with targeting specific markets for social media ads.
NYAA reported that it is reaching out to retail partners to secure geo-targeting advertising to complement in-store and digital promotions to drive New York apple sales.
Geo-targeted promotions include a gallery of NYAA’s original content, images and videos to complement print and digital ads.
The association is offering point-of-sale materials for retail partners to encourage large displays of New York apples.
Display merchandisers, orchard bins, price cards and other materials are available to order via the Applesfromny.com website.
