When the U.S. Apple Association holds its annual marketing and outlook conference in Chicago in August, it’s an occasion to look at the big picture. Not only do the 300 or so apple growers, packers, and shippers evaluate the size and condition of the United States crop, they try for an estimate of the entire global situation as well. It all goes to the question, how big a marketing challenge is ahead? At the meeting August 18-19, USApple pegged the size of the 2011 U.S. apple crop at 227.5 million bushels, up from 221.5 million in 2010. Mike Rothwell, from […]