Washington’s Apples Are Thriving With Record Production This Season

Apples, we here in Washington state, have worked really hard to market one of our premium agricultural products around the world. It's a good thing that we do, because we have a lot of them. The Washington state apple commission says that by the end of the 2025 season Washington growers will have produced about 135 million Boxes of apples. (A box roughly equals 1 bushel.) That's about 4.5 billion pounds of apples. That number represents about 3/4 of the total harvest; The rest of the harvest will go to juicers, applesauce and other apple related products. 

There are a lot of different apple varieties to choose from. The most well-known, probably red and gold and delicious. My personal favorite, the Cosmic Crisp. Granny Smiths are great, but the most in-demand apple variety this year seems to be the Honeycrisp. 

According to Seattletimes.com,
‘Consumer tastes and expectations have veered away from the creamy softness of the Red and Golden Delicious varieties. The Honeycrisp entered the market decades ago, as people sought a juicier, more crisp and tart apple. The Minnesota invention was formally introduced in 1991 — and now Honeycrisp is a perennial fan favorite among apple lovers.” 

But there's a problem with the Honeycrisp apple. It's really hard to grow in Washington state. One Washington grower says it's the most high-maintenance apple out there. He says they need a little extra nutrient spray, a special water irrigation program, and you must be extra careful during harvest because Honeycrisp apples have a very thin skin, so it's easy to puncture. 

By comparison, the Cosmic Crisp is a much more “grower friendly” apple in Washington. I do confess that Cosmic Crisp right now is my apple of choice. It has been for about a year now. 

The thing is, there always seems to be a new variety popping up somewhere, and it's always a gamble as to whether or not it's going to take off. It's a huge investment for a grower to commit a block or more of trees to a new variety.

Honeycrisp apples are popular worldwide. Some WA growers hate them | The Seattle Times