“We have just started harvesting Gala and Ginger Gold apples,” Fred Hess, president of Hess Fruit Co. in Leola, PA, told The Produce News Aug. 8. “Both of these early varieties are very popular and demand is strong.”

Mr. Hess, who co-owns the company with his brother, Jerry, added that the Gala is a sweet-tart apple with orange-yellow skin. The Ginger Gold resembles the Golden Delicious with slick skin. It too has a sweet-tart flavor.

“As the Pennsylvania and Virginia harvests on these varieties wrap up in the next couple of days, New York will start with them,” he said. “Both varieties will be completed in about 10 days. We’ll then move into the Honeycrisp and McIntosh, followed by the Red Delicious and Golden Delicious, and so on right down the line.”

Mr. Hess said that overall demand is expected to be very strong this year, noting the short apple supply nationwide this year.

“Pennsylvania has a very nice crop this year in quality and volume, and Virginia is relatively normal,” he said. “New York is down by over 50 percent, and some parts of New York have been very dry for the past several weeks. Michigan will come out with just a fraction of its normal crop.”

All of these peculiarities are weather-related, Mr. Hess noted. They go back to the very warm temperatures in March that resulted in early maturity of blossoms. Then in April frosts hit the early and fragile buds, causing major losses.

“Washington is reporting a large crop, but they have had considerable hail storms in the past couple of weeks, so it’s hard to say how they will fare,” said Mr. Hess.

“We are hoping to get as much as 70 percent of our normal crop,” he continued. “That should give us good volume for our customers, but it would mean that we may not be packing next July.”

Those who can remember a similar weather pattern in 1945 say that it was the worst year in the U.S. apple industry’s history, but Mr. Hess said that time will tell if this year compares — or is even worse.

“We certainly had some weather conditions that caused concern last year, but they were not anywhere near as extreme as this year,” he said. “We’re glad to have gotten through it with as little damage as we had.”

Mr. Hess said that the only thing keeping the Gala from being the number one apple is production.

“But production is increasing every year,” he said. “The Honeycrisp is also in strong demand. We are always working on new varieties, and we’re testing some now that may show promise for the future.”

He acknowledged that it is likely going to be a very challenging year for the U.S. apple industry, but markets are very strong.

“Satisfying everyone will be our primary goal,” said Mr. Hess. “Managing a short crop isn’t easy, but prices should be strong due to supply and demand.”