“As any grower could attest, producing a great harvest of apples in Virginia means knowing about weather, soil content and the number of growing days.

And more and more these days, it requires a sound knowledge of consumer trends. That’s how Cynthia Chiles sees it, and she knows something about apples. She and her family own Crown Orchard Company and Carter Mountain Orchard in Charlottesville, which have been in business since her great-grandfather first planted orchards in 1912. Chiles says that she, her siblings and their children are continuously striving to produce the best apples possible.

‘Lots of things have changed in the industry,’ she says. ‘There are so many varieties of apples being developed, and we have to understand customer demands and trends. Every time a new variety or strain of an apple is being developed, everybody jumps on the bandwagon to be the first to grow it.'”

Continuing reading the article by John McBryde at farmflavor.com/virginia/virginia-ag-products/apples-aplenty-virginia-apple-industry-heavy-fruit, or find it featured on page 30 of the Virginia Agriculture magazine embedded below.