On Aug. 7, Fred Hess, co-owner of Hess Bros. Fruit Co. in Lancaster, PA, said that the company’s crop condition was in very good shape this year.

“It looks like we’ll be slightly down this year in volume, but it’s pretty comparable to a year ago,” Hess said. “The fruit size looks good. We’ve had lots of rain, and apple trees like a lot of moisture this time of year. Some of the early varieties are coloring on nicely.”

In January, Hess told The Produce News that his brother, Jerry Hess, who was previously his partner in the business, had retired. In a company reorganization upon his retirement, Fred Hess took on three new partners who are all family members and all represent the next generation.

“Jerry’s son, Ryan Hess; another nephew, Andy Figart, and Jerry’s son-in-law, Zack King, have joined me in ownership and management of the company,” Hess said. “They have all worked for the firm for some time.”

Fred Hess' new partners in Hess Bros. Fruit — Zack King, human resources and assistant plant manager; Ryan Hess, fruit procurement and grower relations; and Andrew Figart, sales and marketing.The reorganization and new partnership was made official in early December. Ryan Hess is in charge of fruit procurement and grower relations. Figart oversees sales and marketing and King manages human resources and is the assistant plant manager.

In early August, Hess Fruit Co. was gearing up for its quickly approaching harvesting schedule.

“We’ll start harvesting some Ginger Gold apples in middle to late next week,” Hess said. “By the end of the week we’ll be picking some Galas at our Virginia orchards.”

“The real strength in our varieties today is the Gala,” he continued. “And we’re seeing the demand for Honeycrisp apples increasing every year. It’s a highly demanded apple today. We’re also very strong in McIntosh apples, and we have plenty of Red and Gold Delicious apples again this year. We have a really nice mix of all of the top varieties.”

Hess Fruit Co.’s 2013 crop is projected to keep the company supplied until the 2014 harvest. Hess said the company likes to “time the marketing of the crop perfectly.” He also said that word is out that Washington state is reporting a crop of very large fruit size, similar to what it had a year ago.

“If everyone in the country has a good crop, as people are now suggesting, it should be a really good year for consumers,” said Hess. “There’s a lot of positive media attention regarding the health and nutritional benefits of apples today, and consumers should be able to take great advantage of the good crop the nation will have this year.”