Stored apple conditions in New York state are excellent this year, according to Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, who said the fruit is moving quickly to the marketplace.

“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Allen. “When fruit quality is good and markets are good, the fruit moves before quality can start to suffer. That’s what we’re seeing this year.”

Allen explained that apple trees generally don’t mind cold temperatures, and growers see problems when weather anomalies occur.Although New York apple trees look barren, the NYAA is not taking a break from its marketing and promotional initiatives.

“We have not had a normal winter this year,” said Allen. “The cold temperatures came on suddenly rather than gradually. It’s too early to tell if we’ll have any long-term issues with the coming crop.”

He added that this was a topic of conversation at NYAA’s winter board meeting, where growers adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

New York currently has between 550 and 600 primary apple producers, a count that has held steady over recent years.

“We are seeing more young folks coming back to their family businesses, which is a good sign,” said Allen. “And they aren’t afraid to take industry leadership positions. Three of these young leaders now serve on New York Apple Association’s board of directors.”

Apple acreage in New York has reportedly declined a bit in recent years, but Allen said that statistics indicating this are also deceiving. In fact, production is increasing across the state as growers replace older, bigger and less productive trees with high-density plantings.

“There is a lot of technology involved in orchards these days,” Allen pointed out. “New orchard systems get to commercial bearing age sooner and are more productive per acre. New York state produces an average of 29.5 [million] to 30 million bushels, and that average is nudging up over time as our orchards become more productive.”

He said it is also clear that there is a lot of optimism, as every grower he speaks with has new trees on order. The New York apple industry, Allen emphasized, is definitely growing.

Although it is the middle of winter and New York apple trees look barren and chilly, the NYAA is not taking pause of its always-aggressive marketing and promotional initiatives, which Molly Zingler, director of marketing, oversees with a keen eye.

“Just like in the fall, we continue to work directly with a number of retailers who are particularly supportive of New York state,” said Zingler. “We offer traditional retail support such as customized point-of-sale materials, as well as newer tools like online couponing and digital content. We’ve found that the best thing that keeps retail momentum going is high quality fruit. New York apples sell themselves, which is, after all, why we’re called the ‘Big Apple.’”

Allen further noted that the market this year is more orderly than last year. There is less pressure because growers in the west have a manageable crop, which helps to create a more favorable market for everyone.

Like every category of fresh produce, apple growers are faced with challenges such as minimum wage, H2A program changes, federal immigration reform, the Food Safety Modernization Act and export challenges.

“It isn’t getting any easier to be in the apple business in New York or anywhere else in the United States, that’s for sure,” stressed Allen. “Here in New York, our governor is pushing for a $15 per hour minimum page, which would be a huge burden for our labor-intensive apple industry.

“One grower told me that H2A program changes are going to cost his business $40,000 more to access the same migrant workers he’s been using for 40 years,” he continued. “Our growers do what they do because they want to farm, not fill out government paperwork. More and more barriers are being raised just to sell apples at the same price because we can’t pass those costs on to retailers or consumers.”