Apple harvest begins in Minnesota
This year's apple harvest is running a week late because of the long winter and wet spring, but the state's early-season apples are ready for picking.
Growers in southern Minnesota say early varieties like Paula Red and Zestar apples are ready for picking now.
• Map: Explore Minnesota apple orchards
The Sekapp orchard near Rochester has been spared bad weather this year and now seven of the orchard's 25 apple varieties are ready for harvest, said owner Fred Kappauff.
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In all, Kappauff has about 7,000 fruit trees on his 27-acre orchard.
"It's the 'h' word. I hate to say it. Apple growers don't like to say the word hail. But we've been fortunate we've had a good growing season and good weather conditions and things are progressing nicely," Kappauff said.
Hail storms earlier this week wiped out apple crops in parts of central Minnesota.
The crop looks very good in some areas of the state, but spotty in others, said Jim Luby, professor of horticultural science at the University of Minnesota.
Still, Minnesota's roughly 150 apple growers are expected to produce around 21 million pounds of fruit this year, he said.