Oregon Public Broadcasting

In Northwest farm country, apple harvest is in full swing. Huge trucks loaded down with fruit can be seen on the highways headed for market.

Farmers say they expect to haul in about the same amount of fruit this year as usual, but the apples will be larger than last year. Richland Correspondent Anna King reports.

Brian Talbot smiles when he sees his apples color-up like Christmas tree ornaments as the fall harvest arrives.

He walks the orchards every day and crisps into the occasional colored orb to see if the fruit is ready.

Brian Talbot: “Especially when the days start cooling down and you're walking through the orchard, it just has a feel, a look and a smell of harvest. Very, very enjoyable. Especially compared to the hundred plus degree days where it was just not much fun to be out running around in the field.”

Talbot says with the down economy, there are plenty of workers to haul in the massive crop.

In Washington, farmers expect to harvest 5.8 billion pounds of apples. Oregon should pick about 110 million pounds and Idaho will bring in 65 million pounds this year.