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Fruit

The weather conditions had a varying effect on fruit crops in 1995. The hot and dry conditions during the summer caused some fruit and berry loss in some areas. Fruit set was good for most crops but weather conditions during August and September adversely affected production.

Total production of the five fruit and berry crops during 1995 amounted to 227.8 million pounds, down 3 percent from 1994 production of 235.1 million pounds. Value of utilized production of the above crops totaled $87.2 million, a gain of $3.9 million from the 1994 total of $83.3 million.

During 1995, among all major fruit and berry producing states in the nation, New Jersey ranked second in blueberries, third in cranberry production, fifth in peach production, and twelfth in apple production. Ranking crops by value of production within the state resulted in blueberries first with $26.5 million. Peaches ranked second with $26.2 million, while cranberries ranked third with $22.2 million. Apples and strawberries ranked fourth and fifth with $11.4 million and $0.9 million, respectively.

Apple production for New Jersey totaled 75.0 million pounds in 1995. Utilized production at 72.0 million pounds accounted for 96 percent of total production. This was an increase of 6 percent from last year's utilized production of 68.0 million pounds. In 1995, Gloucester county was the leading producer, accounting for 62 percent of the State's total production. Atlantic county was second with production at 4.2 million pounds and Camden county ranked third at 3.5 million pounds.

Weather conditions during the summer affected peach quality in some areas. Total peach production for 1995 totaled 70.0 million pounds. Production not utilized was estimated at 2.0 million pounds, which was 3 percent of the total production. The 1995 value of New Jersey peach production totaled $26.2 million, up 15 percent from 1994. Gloucester County was the leading peach growing county in the state with production of 32.5 million pounds or 46 percent of the total state production. Cumberland and Camden counties ranked second and third with production of 15.5 million and 10.0 million pounds, respectively.

The 1995 blueberry production was estimated at 36.0 million pounds up 3.5 million pounds from 1994. Value of utilized production was $26.5 million compared to 1994's value of $23.2 million, and Burlington counties were the two leading blueberry producing counties. The season average price of 75.7 cents per pound was up 3 percent from 73.7 cents per pound in 1994.

Cranberry growers in New Jersey produced 454,000 barrels in 1995, a decrease of 104,000 barrels from the 1994 record crop. The value of utilized production was $22.2 million, down 15 percent from $26.0 million in 1994. Burlington County is the major cranberry producing area in the Garden State.

Strawberry growers harvested 15,000 cwt. of strawberries in 1995, up 1,000 cwt. from 1994 and down 3,000 cwt. from 1993. The area harvested, at 450 acres, was unchanged from the previous year. The season average price was $62.90 per hundredweight for 1995. Value of utilized production was at $0.9 million compared with $0.8 million in 1994.

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