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Farms begin pressing apple cider [Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.](Republican & Herald (Pottsville, PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 27--FRIEDENSBURG -- Those who love apples can rejoice as it looks like a promising year for the crop. Julie Bancroft, executive director of the Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Program, Harrisburg, said recently that the apple harvest should be good this year. "We're expecting a fantastic crop this year," she said. Production of apples is "typically between 10 and 11 million bushels" in the state, she said. Nationally, apple crops are expected to do just as well, she said. Locally, no numbers for 2014 are available on apple production, Jack Doney, an agricultural statistician with the United States Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service, said Tuesday. The most recent data available from 2012 show there were 131 acres of apples the county. In the county, apple cider season is in full swing. Kent Heffner of Jersey Acres Farms in Wayne Township was busy Sept. 19 pressing cider for sale this season. "We'll stop (possibly selling) in April. We press cider all winter long," he said of the cider that is pressed weekly. About 125 gallons of apple cider were pressed Sept. 18. Apples in the first batch include Early Gold, Gala, Honey Crisp and Zestar. About one bushel of apples is needed to make three gallons of cider. "We have about 20 varieties of apples here," Heffner said, about the 500-acre farm of which six acres are used for apples. He said there is no perfect combination of apples that makes the best cider. "We don't pasteurize it. It tastes different if you pasteurize it," Ralph Heffner, who owns the farm with his wife, Annie, said. The cost has gone up slightly from last year. A gallon of cider is $5, up 5 cents, $4 for a 1/2 gallon, up 50 cents, and $2.25 a quart, an increase of 25 cents from last year. Weather contributes to the increase, manager Linda Reading said. Wayne Heffner said the brutal winter did damage to some of the apples. "It killed some of the buds," he said. Wind and hail can also damage the crops, Kent, his son, said. Ralph said his parents, Norman and Alice Heffner, purchased the farm in 1910. Apple cider has been pressed at the farm for a long time. He pressed cider there while in high school. He said he does not get tired of the drink and has it in the morning for breakfast. At Stein's Fruit Farm, Orwigsburg, Josh Stein, co-owner with his brother, Jake, said cider was pressed Tuesday. The farm does not have their own press, so they send their out to be pressed pasturiuzed using ultraviolet light. "We have a great crop this year. We planted a lot of younger trees in the past. They are starting to mature," he said. The winter weather did not affect the apple crop this year, he said. The price will remain as same of last year, $3 per 1/2 gallon and $5 a gallon. Stein said they want to remain competitive, so they are not increasing their prices. "We have roughly six acres of apples. We'll have cider at least till the end of the year," Stein said, adding they have about 25 different varieties. John Heim, owner of Heim's Fruit Farm, McKeansburg, said he has apples to sell but no cider because he does not have a press. "This year is about average," he said of his 3/4 an acre apple crop. He has Cortland, Red Delicious, McIntosh and Gala apples, which will be for sale into early next year. Cider can also be found at Weis Markets. Dennis Curtin, director of public relations for Weis Markets Inc., said Weis cider is sold throughout the year and is made by Dries Orchards in Sunbury. The price is $2.99 for 1/2 a gallon and $4.99 a gallon, about the same as last year, Curtain said in an email. ___ (c)2014 the Republican & Herald (Pottsville, Pa.) Visit the Republican & Herald (Pottsville, Pa.) at republicanherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |