Apple shipments for the upcoming 2017 shipping season are projected to increase. Meanwhile, here’s a glimpse at California sweet corn shipments, as well as kiwifruit imports.Fowler Farms of Wolcott, NY is a grower/shipper of apples and is expanding the packing capacity it has for fruit coming from its 2,500-acre, six-farm operation. The company is now installing a new eight-lane grader/sorter system. The multimillion-dollar system should be operational in time for the start of Fowler’s apple harvest beginning August 1st.
Founded in 1856, family-owned Fowler Farms is one of the largest vertically integrated apple farms in the U.S., offering 23 varieties of fresh apples and a line of refrigerated ciders.
Sweet Corn Shipments
Uesugi Farms of Gilroy, CA shipped its first conventional crop of the season from the Coachella Valley before Memorial Day weekend, and the company is now harvesting in Brentwood, CA. That harvest will continue in Gilroy. The operation has added white, yellow and bi-color organic sweet corn to its list of products. The organic sweet corn will come in packages of four ears, and is being harvested in Wasco, CA., and harvests will then move to Northern California, the Coachella Valley and Mexico.
Kiwifruit Imports
New Zealand kiwifruit imports by the U.S. should increase overall as the season is already underway for green conventional and organic kiwifruit, as well as SunGold conventional and organic fruit. Imports started last May and will continue through November. Kiwifruit is a rapidly growing in popularity and the SunGold in particular is expected to increase by 40 percent over last season.