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NYS: Number #2 Producer Of Apples; #3 In Grape Production

New York State is again the second highest producer of apples in the country (behind Washington State), and the third highest producer of grapes (with California, and Washington State #1 and #2)

That according to numbers released by Governor Cuomo on Wednesday, who said the state produced an estimated 1.26 billion pounds of apples and 188,000 tons of grapes last year. That combined for a crop totaling more than $358 million.

Jim Allen, President of the New York Apple Association, said, "We might be number two in national apple production, but New York has the best growing conditions and best tasting apples in the country."

Jim Trezise, President of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, said, "The 2014 New York grape crop turned out a lot better than many people expected after the extreme cold of three 'polar vortex' events upstate during the winter, followed by a relatively cool spring and summer. But September turned out to be pure magic for ripening, so the quality was superb and the quantity was larger than envisioned earlier."

New York State has ranked second in apple production every year since 1996 and third in grape production every year since 1987, except for 1996 when the state ranked second.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.