Every state in the continental United States grows apples, and 32 states raise apples commercially. Washington State produces 58 percent of the apples in the United States. Other leading states include New York with 14 percent and Michigan with 8 percent of the total U.S. production. Other major apple states include Pennsylvania, California and Virginia. Apples rank third in the number of acres committed to fruit production behind oranges and grapes. In 2005, an estimated 7,500 apple growers managed orchards on 379,000 acres.  May 2008 . . .  Apples

Marketing

• Apple Industry Per Acre Receipts for Red Delicious and Gala, Washington State University - These research findings can be used to estimate the increase in receipts associated with making improvements in the fruit.
• China Agricultural Data, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, 2001 - Information on production, cost of production and trade.
• Competition in Fresh Produce Markets: An Empirical Analysis of Channel Performance, Economic Research Service, USDA, 2003 - This study reviews the extent to which grocery retailers exercise market power in buying from apple and other fresh fruit growers and selling to consumers.
• Consumer Response to Apples, Washington Tree Fruit Postharvest Conference, 2001 - A study, funded by the Washington Apple Commission and Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, reviewed consumer attitudes toward apples.
• Farmers Market Search, Ag Marketing Service, USDA.
• Fresh-Market Apples, Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook, ERS, USDA, 2005. 
• Fruit and Tree Nuts, Briefing Room, Economic Research Service, USDA - This government portal provides general information and statistics on the U.S. fruits and nut tree industries.
• Resolution in the U.S. – Japan Apple Dispute: New Opportunities for Trade, Economic Research Service, USDA, 2005 - With the elimination of the restrictive fire-blight protocol Japan previously had on U.S. apples, the United States now has a new opportunity to export apples to a high-quality export market.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Apple Bars: Delicious, All-Natural Snack from ARS, Agricultural Research Service, 2006 - A process to create moist, chewy apple bars was developed by ARS scientists.
• Apple Products Research & Education Council - This organization provides handling, receiving and production guidelines for the processed apple industry. It also includes health and research information for consumers.
• Hard Cider & Apple Wine, Processed Apple Product Marketing Analysis, Cornell University, 2000 - This report provides background on hard cider and apple wine, and their potential roles in the processed apple industry.
• Hard Cider Industry Profile, Ag Marketing Resource Center, Iowa State University - Hard cider is traced back to Europe. In this country the cider tradition is being renewed. Cider can be found on tap, in six packs and in wine bottles. Cider is not wine and it is not beer. Like wine, it is fermented from fruit and can capture the complex flavors of fruit. Like beer, cider has under six or seven percent alcohol and tastes best with some sparkle. It is different from both: a unique beverage.
• Keeping Apples Healthy, University of Vermont - This apple-focused food safety document includes a section on cider processing.
• National Apple Processing Report, AMS, USDA - This weekly report provides information on apple use, shipping trends and cold storage for fresh and frozen apples.
• Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide, Penn State University - This guide features sections of cider production, processing and labeling.
• Postharvest Information Network, Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Washington State University - This site provides information by variety as well as subject, including quality, marketing, organic and storage.
• Preserving Apples, Kansas State University, 1995 - This document contains how-to apple information for freezing, canning, and making butter, jelly, juice and sauce.

Production

• Apple, University of Georgia - This site provides an overview of apple cultivars, production, harvest, handling and nutrient content.
• Apple, Integrated Pest Management guidelines, University of California, Davis.
• Orchard Vineyard Cash Flow Planner, Penn State University - This Excel workbook can be used to project cash flow for an orchard operation over a seven-year period. It requires Excel 97 or a later version.
• PlantFacts, Ohio State University - This Web site provides a full-text search engine of all extension and academic department information from all land-grant universities in the United States. Additionally, there are significant image and video databases, a FAQ database and a glossary.
• Sample Costs to Establish an Apple Orchard and Produce Apples, University of California-Davis, 2001 - This study provides cost estimates for Granny Smith apples grown in the San Joaquin Valley.
• Tree Fruit Budgets, Ohio State University - This site provides printable budgets in HTML and Excel for apple tree orchards from land preparation and establishment to year five mature trees.
• Tree Fruit Farm Business Summary, Lake Ontario Region, Cornell University, 1999 - The fruit farm business summary identifies necessary financial and business information, and provides ideas for using the information to evaluate the business. Most of the growers in this study were apple growers.

Businesses/Case Studies

• The Big Apple, Rural Cooperatives, 2002 - This article tells how new products and added plant capacity are playing a major role in Tree Top’s marketing strategy.
• Knouse Foods: The Apple Experts - Founded in 1949, Knouse Foods is a cooperative that represents hundreds of grower members in the Eastern United States. Musselman’s is one of the group’s branded products.
• Scotian Gold Cooperative Limited is the only producer-owned apple cooperative in Nova Scotia, handling fruit from more than 55 growers.
• Tree Top originated as a grower-owned apple processor in 1960. Today it has more than 1,300 grower-owners in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Links checked April 2008.