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Vermont · crop watch

Vermont apple crop

As of the week ending Sep 27, 100% of the 2026 Vermont apple crop is rated good or excellent. Harvest is 71% complete (five-year average 56%). USDA's August forecast puts the 2018 crop at 20.1 million lb, down 35.0% from last year's final of 30.9.

Week ending Sep 27, 2026

Good to excellent

100%of the crop

Share of the 2026 crop rated good or excellent for the week ending Sep 27.

▲

71%

Harvested

+15 points against the five-year pace of 56%.

▼

20.1

million lb, 2018 forecast

−35.0% against last year's final crop.

Analysis

Week ending Sep 27

Vermont apples rated fully good to excellent

Vermont's apple crop was rated 100% good to excellent for the week ending September 27, 2026, unchanged from the prior week, with three-quarters of that in the excellent category. Harvest reached 71% complete, ahead of the five-year average of 56% and close to last year's 69% pace at the same point. Full bloom, petal fall and fruit set all ran ahead of or level with last year's timing earlier in the season. An August 2018 forecast for the crop put output at 20.1 million pounds, down 35% from the prior year's final total of 30.9 million pounds.

Written from USDA data and source reports

Weekly ratings

Crop condition, 2026

Bars are the full USDA rating split each week. The dashed line is the five-year average for good plus excellent; the dotted line is last year.

2026202520242023202220212020
Vermont apple crop condition, 20260%25%50%75%100%Week ending Jun 14: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 100%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Jun 21: Very poor 0%, Poor 25%, Fair 25%, Good 25%, Excellent 25% — good+excellent 50% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Jun 28: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 100%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg 77%, last year 100%)Week ending Jul 5: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 100%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg 77%, last year 100%)Week ending Jul 12: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 100%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg 70%, last year 100%)Week ending Jul 19: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 100%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg 78%, last year 100%)Week ending Jul 26: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 10%, Good 90%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 90% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Aug 2: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 20%, Good 80%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 80% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Aug 9: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 18%, Good 82%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 82% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Aug 16: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 8%, Good 92%, Excellent 0% — good+excellent 92% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Aug 23: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 50%, Excellent 50% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Aug 30: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 10%, Good 46%, Excellent 44% — good+excellent 90% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Sep 6: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 25%, Excellent 75% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Sep 13: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 25%, Excellent 75% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg 80%, last year 100%)Week ending Sep 20: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 25%, Excellent 75% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg —, last year 100%)Week ending Sep 27: Very poor 0%, Poor 0%, Fair 0%, Good 25%, Excellent 75% — good+excellent 100% (5-yr avg —, last year —)−50 pts — week ending Jun 21−50 ptsUSDA forecast — week ending Aug 16USDA forecastHarvest begins — week ending Aug 16Harvest beginsJun 14Jun 28Jul 12Jul 26Aug 9Aug 23Sep 6Sep 20
Very poorPoorFairGoodExcellent5-yr avg good+excellentLast year

Latest: 100% good or excellent, week ending Sep 27. Hover a bar for the full breakdown.

Field progress

Green tip, 2026

This season against the five-year average pace and last year.

Vermont apple green tip, 20260%50%100%Green tip, week ending Apr 12: 0% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Green tip, week ending Apr 19: 10% (5-yr avg 16%, last year 0%)Green tip, week ending Apr 26: 20% (5-yr avg 45%, last year 51%)Green tip, week ending May 3: 75% (5-yr avg 82%, last year 94%)Green tip, week ending May 10: 100% (5-yr avg 95%, last year 100%)Green tip, week ending May 17: 100% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Green tip, week ending May 24: 100% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Green tip, week ending May 31: 100% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Green tip, week ending Jun 7: 100% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Apr 12Apr 26May 10May 24Jun 7
This year5-yr avgLast year

Green tip: 100% as of Jun 7.

Field progress

Pink, 2026

This season against the five-year average pace and last year.

Vermont apple pink, 20260%50%100%Pink, week ending Apr 26: 0% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Pink, week ending May 3: 20% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Pink, week ending May 10: 23% (5-yr avg 43%, last year 26%)Pink, week ending May 17: 50% (5-yr avg 86%, last year 90%)Pink, week ending May 24: 100% (5-yr avg 97%, last year 100%)Pink, week ending May 31: 100% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Pink, week ending Jun 7: 100% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Apr 26May 3May 10May 17May 24May 31Jun 7
This year5-yr avgLast year

Pink: 100% as of Jun 7.

Field progress

Full bloom, 2026

This season against the five-year average pace and last year.

Vermont apple full bloom, 20260%50%100%Full bloom, week ending May 24: 40% (5-yr avg 75%, last year 58%)Full bloom, week ending May 31: 100% (5-yr avg 90%, last year 77%)Full bloom, week ending Jun 7: 100% (5-yr avg —, last year 89%)May 24May 31Jun 7
This year5-yr avgLast year

Full bloom: 100% as of Jun 7.

Field progress

Petal fall, 2026

This season against the five-year average pace and last year.

Vermont apple petal fall, 20260%50%100%Petal fall, week ending May 24: 3% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Petal fall, week ending May 31: 90% (5-yr avg 76%, last year 57%)Petal fall, week ending Jun 7: 100% (5-yr avg 96%, last year 83%)Petal fall, week ending Jun 14: 100% (5-yr avg —, last year 96%)May 24May 31Jun 7Jun 14
This year5-yr avgLast year

Petal fall: 100% as of Jun 14.

Field progress

Fruit set, 2026

This season against the five-year average pace and last year.

Vermont apple fruit set, 20260%50%100%Fruit set, week ending May 31: 1% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Fruit set, week ending Jun 7: 55% (5-yr avg 57%, last year 21%)Fruit set, week ending Jun 14: 94% (5-yr avg 81%, last year 72%)Fruit set, week ending Jun 21: 99% (5-yr avg —, last year 95%)May 31Jun 7Jun 14Jun 21
This year5-yr avgLast year

Fruit set: 99% as of Jun 21.

Field progress

Harvested, 2026

This season against the five-year average pace and last year.

Vermont apple harvested, 20260%50%100%Harvested, week ending Jun 14: 0% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Harvested, week ending Aug 9: 0% (5-yr avg —, last year —)Harvested, week ending Aug 16: 3% (5-yr avg 3%, last year 4%)Harvested, week ending Aug 23: 13% (5-yr avg 9%, last year 14%)Harvested, week ending Aug 30: 23% (5-yr avg 19%, last year 28%)Harvested, week ending Sep 6: 50% (5-yr avg 32%, last year 35%)Harvested, week ending Sep 13: 60% (5-yr avg 41%, last year 48%)Harvested, week ending Sep 20: 70% (5-yr avg 49%, last year 59%)Harvested, week ending Sep 27: 71% (5-yr avg 56%, last year 69%)Jun 14Aug 16Aug 30Sep 13Sep 27
This year5-yr avgLast year

Harvested: 71% as of Sep 27 (5-yr avg 56%).

Forecast record

How the forecast moved to final

Each season's first USDA forecast against the final estimate, with the revision between them.

Vermont apple crop: USDA first forecast vs final010203040million lb2010: no forecast · final 35.0 million lb20102011: no forecast · final 33.5 million lb20112012: no forecast · final 25.5 million lb20122013: no forecast · final 34.0 million lb20132014: no forecast · final 29.4 million lb20142015: no forecast · final 38.3 million lb20152016: no forecast · final 30.0 million lb20162017: no forecast · final 30.9 million lb20172018: Aug forecast 20.1 million lb · final pending2018
First forecastFinalFinal pending
Crop yearFirst forecast (million lb)FinalRevisionCrop valueShare of US
201820.1 Augustpending———
2017—30.9—$23M0.3%
2016—30.0—$20M0.3%
2015—38.3—$16M0.4%
2014—29.4—$11M0.2%
2013—34.0—$14M0.3%
2012—25.5—$10M0.3%
2011—33.5—$8M0.4%
2010—35.0—$10M0.4%

Revision is how far the final estimate moved from the season's first forecast — the practical measure of how much weight to give an early number.

Utilization

Where the crop went

Fresh market against processing and unsold volume, by crop year.

Vermont apple crop: fresh market vs processing010203040million lb2010: fresh 27.0, processing 6.0, not sold 0.0 million lb — 82% fresh20102011: fresh 16.0, processing 10.5, not sold 0.5 million lb — 59% fresh20112012: fresh 17.5, processing 6.5, not sold 0.0 million lb — 73% fresh20122013: fresh 26.0, processing 5.0, not sold 2.5 million lb — 78% fresh20132014: fresh 23.8, processing 4.4, not sold 0.1 million lb — 84% fresh20142015: fresh 32.7, processing 5.3, not sold 0.3 million lb — 85% fresh20152016: fresh 24.0, processing 5.8, not sold 0.2 million lb — 80% fresh20162017: fresh 24.3, processing 6.4, not sold 0.2 million lb — 79% fresh2017
Fresh marketProcessingNot sold

Source: USDA NASS Crop Progress (weekly, April–November) and Crop Production reports. This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS.

Updated September 29, 2026

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