Iowa apple production down sharply in 2014

Iowa's apple production fell 56 percent in 2014 from the previous year as growers battled difficult spring weather and pockets of hailstorm damage.

The state's apple crop is estimated at 3.2 million pounds, down from 7.3 million pounds in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Yield per acre was estimated at 4,000 pounds, down 48 percent from the 2013 yield of 7,680 pounds per acre.

Yield per acre is based on total production, which includes unharvested production and fruit harvested but not sold due to market conditions.

Iowa apple production is cyclical with a heavy crop one year and a light crop the following year, according to Paul Rasch, owner of Wilson's Orchard in Iowa City.

The 2012 Iowa apple harvest was light and affected by a freeze. Iowa orchards produced 7.3 million pounds of apples in 2013, up from 700,000 pounds in 2012.

Average yield per acre jumped from 700 pounds in 2012 to 7,680 pounds in 2013.

While some of the state's apple growers experienced a disappointing year in 2014, Rasch said his two orchards produced a good crop of apples.

'We actually sold as many apples as the year before and the quality was better.” Rasch said Thursday. 'We just a missed a freeze by what we think was somewhere between half a degree and a degree.”

Rasch said weather likely will play a large role in the size and quality of his 2015 apple crop.

'So far, knock on wood, everything looks pretty promising,” he said. 'We cooled down in November and then it got cold and everything went dormant.”

The weighted average price received for all categories of apples was 77.4 cents per pound in 2014, up 7.7 cents from 69.7 cents in 2013. Utilized production fell to 2.5 million pounds in 2014 from 5.8 million pounds in 2013.

That slashed the value of Iowa's apple crop to $1.9 billion in 2014 from $4 billion in 2013.

Apple growers in states surrounding Iowa had mixed results in 2014.

Illinois orchards produced 20.6 million pounds of apples, up from 16 million pounds in 2013. Wisconsin growers, meanwhile, produced 40.7 million pounds of apples last year, down slightly from 41.7 million pounds in 2013.

Michigan, traditionally a top apple-producing state, experienced a decline from 1.3 billion pounds in 2013 to 1 billion pounds last year.