Damage to New York crops less than originally thought
Damage to New York crops less than originally thought
New York fruit growers initially believed that the June 18 hailstorm may have caused as much as 60 percent crop loss, but a week later, reports indicate that while losses were major, they are not as bad as first thought.
"Assessments at this time are that statewide, approximately 6.5 [million] to 7 million bushels of apples have been damaged or destroyed in one degree or another," Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association in Fishers, NY, told The Produce News June 24.
The day following the storm, Mr. Allen said that hail swept across western New York, moving through the main fruit belt area from Buffalo to south of Syracuse and the Hudson Valley. He added that it was like the storm had "radar for apples."
"It's hard to determine at this point what will happen to all of the damaged fruit, but we're quite sure it will not go to the fresh retail market," said Mr. Allen. "We have two markets for fresh fruit. One is packed for the retail industry, which are the highest-quality apples. The damaged apples will not find their way to this category. The other market includes the pick-your-own, greenmarkets, roadside stands and other fresh markets. We should be able to move quite a bit of this fruit to this sector because although it's banged up, it is still very edible."
Apples so badly damaged that they don't qualify for either of the fresh markets will go to processing, and this is where growers will take the largest financial hit.
"We were projecting a 30 million bushel crop before the storm hit," said Mr. Allen. "About 17 million was for slated for the fresh market. With a loss of up to 7 million, it leaves about 10 million for the fresh side. The pre-storm projection for the processing side was 13 million bushels. That number will now increase because the damaged apples will be added to it. This is where growers will get hurt the most."
When The Produce News spoke to Mr. Allen, he had just finished a phone call through which he learned that the forecast for the coming weekend included more hailstorms in the state.
"It's so early to be getting this extensive stormy weather in New York," he said. "We have had issues in past years where several storms will occur in one area in June, July or August, but nothing that has swept across the entire state in almost every apple-producing region."
It will be impossible to determine the exact financial losses due to the storm until apples are harvested, sorted and packed.
"We're down, but we're far from out," said Mr. Allen. "A couple of heavy producing areas suffered no damage. The fruit is sizable and high quality this year. We will have a fair amount to be packed and sold to the retail market."
"Assessments at this time are that statewide, approximately 6.5 [million] to 7 million bushels of apples have been damaged or destroyed in one degree or another," Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association in Fishers, NY, told The Produce News June 24.
The day following the storm, Mr. Allen said that hail swept across western New York, moving through the main fruit belt area from Buffalo to south of Syracuse and the Hudson Valley. He added that it was like the storm had "radar for apples."
"It's hard to determine at this point what will happen to all of the damaged fruit, but we're quite sure it will not go to the fresh retail market," said Mr. Allen. "We have two markets for fresh fruit. One is packed for the retail industry, which are the highest-quality apples. The damaged apples will not find their way to this category. The other market includes the pick-your-own, greenmarkets, roadside stands and other fresh markets. We should be able to move quite a bit of this fruit to this sector because although it's banged up, it is still very edible."
Apples so badly damaged that they don't qualify for either of the fresh markets will go to processing, and this is where growers will take the largest financial hit.
"We were projecting a 30 million bushel crop before the storm hit," said Mr. Allen. "About 17 million was for slated for the fresh market. With a loss of up to 7 million, it leaves about 10 million for the fresh side. The pre-storm projection for the processing side was 13 million bushels. That number will now increase because the damaged apples will be added to it. This is where growers will get hurt the most."
When The Produce News spoke to Mr. Allen, he had just finished a phone call through which he learned that the forecast for the coming weekend included more hailstorms in the state.
"It's so early to be getting this extensive stormy weather in New York," he said. "We have had issues in past years where several storms will occur in one area in June, July or August, but nothing that has swept across the entire state in almost every apple-producing region."
It will be impossible to determine the exact financial losses due to the storm until apples are harvested, sorted and packed.
"We're down, but we're far from out," said Mr. Allen. "A couple of heavy producing areas suffered no damage. The fruit is sizable and high quality this year. We will have a fair amount to be packed and sold to the retail market."
