The forecast for U.S. cranberry production in 2008 is 689 million pounds, up 5 percent from 2007 and slightly below 2006.
Wisconsin is expected to lead all states in the production of cranberries, with 385 million pounds, followed by Massachusetts (190 million). New Jersey, Oregon and Washington are also expected to have substantial production, ranging from 15 million to 50 million pounds.
The size of Pennsylvania pumpkins harvested this year will be smaller than average, according to Penn State horticultur
e specialist Mike Orzolek, due to the dry weather that the state experienced in late July and August, as well as a generally cool summer. The size difference will be especially noticeable in medium-to-large pumpkins ranging from 18 to more than 25 pounds.
Pennsylvania ranks as the second largest pumpkin grower in the U.S., with approximately 8,000 acres planted.
The nation’s 2008-2009 navel orange crop will likely be substantially lower than last season,
according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The initial 2008-09 navel orange forecast of the NASS is for 64 million (37.5-pound) cartons, 34 percent below last season’s crop of 97 million cartons. Of the total forecast, 62 million cartons are predicted to come from the Central Valley of California.
Data indicate an average fruit set of 202 oranges per tree, with a Sept. 1 diameter of 2.276 inches, the NASS says.
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service has estimated the 2008 Oregon hazelnut crop at 34,000
tons, some 3,000 tons less than the crop harvested in 2007.
This year’s crop in Oregon is running one to two weeks late, however, and it is feared that autumn rains could interfere with harvest.
The average Oregon hazelnut crop from 1998 through 2002 was 29,600 tons; the 2003-2007 average is 36,600 tons.
Most Washington orchards have rebounded from a poor 2007 growing year and the state’s 
apple crop is predicted to increase by 4 percent over 2007, but down 3 percent from 2006. Harvest is eight to 10 days behind normal.
Bartlett pear production for Washington, California and Oregon is expected to be about 408,000 tons, 7 percent higher than the USDA’s June forecast, but 4 percent lower than last year’s harvest.
Washington’s peach crop is expected to be 17,000 tons, compared with 18,500 tons last year - about an 8 percent drop.
Washington’s prune and plum harvest is expected to be about 4,800 tons, up 14 percent from 2007, but 11 percent below 2006. Increased yields are due to trees recovering from the poor 2007 growing season.
Washington’s wine grape production is forecast to be 6 percent higher this year, reaching a record high of 135,000 tons. The increase is mostly due to more acreage coming into production, he said.
Source: The Wenatchee World
Peaches are in season and it is picking time in Grafton, Illinois, where the the second annual Pere Marquette
Peach Festival will be held this weekend.
According to The Telegraph, peache varieties supplied for the festival will be “Red Haven, White Lady and Glo-Haven peaches from Ringhausen Orchards. Joe Ringhausen will bring at least 20 bushels of peaches, which should be enough, with a bushel being 48 pounds.”
The event will be held at Pere Marquette Lodge at Pere Marquette State Park
Peaches harvest is also in full gear in southeast Tennessee, with excellent yields and quality reported.
Reuters reports that some Indiana farmers are still seeding soybeans in recently harvested winter wheat fields, even though double-crop soybeans are usually planted no later than early July. High prices on soybeans ($15 per bushel) makes it worth gambling against the chance of low yields.
The California USDA/NASS field office has made the following forecasts for the 2008 crop.
California Apricots: 87,000 tons, up 7 percent from the 2007 crop. Bearing acreage is estimated at 13,400 acres, resulting in a yield of 6.5 tons per acre.
California Sweet Cherries: 86,000 tons, up 1 percent from the 2007 crop. Bearing acreage is estimated at 30,000 acres, resulting in a yield of 2.87 tons per acre.
California Peaches: 430,000 tons, unchanged from the May forecast and the 2007 crop. Bearing acreage is estimated at 36,000, resulting in a yield of 11.9 tons per acre.
California Clingstone Peaches: 380,000 tons, down 5 percent from the May forecast and 24 percent below the 2007 crop. Bearing acreage is estimated at 25.3 thousand acres, resulting in a yield of 15.0 tons per acre.
Record low temperatures, heavy rain, and little sunshine have Northwest berry growers singing th
e blues. The region’s berry crop is weeks late and most u-pick and market farms have little to offer until it arrives.
“We’re sort of crossing our fingers for some real sunshine soon,” Janet Stocker of Snohomish-based Stocker Farms told the Seattle Weekly. Her strawberries are still green and in danger of rotting on the vine.
Seattle farmers markets have seen many berry farmers cancel at the last minute. Disappointed shoppers are not finding what they are accustomed to this time of year.
With sunny weather in South Carolina last week, farmers were harvesting oats. The oat harvest there is 21 percent ahead of the five-year average.
Winter wheat acres are also being harvested, with exceptional yields. The current forecast is for a state record of 54 bushels per acre.
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