The 2014 apple picking season started officially on August 15 in New York and the apple growers expect a bumper crop this year too keeping close to last year's record harvest.

Steve Ammerman the spokesman from New York Farm Bureau said that the state growers expect to harvest 30 million or more bushels this season. Last year it was a record harvest of 32 million bushels. The average would be close to 29 million bushels.

It is a big relief for the apple farmers after the disastrous year in 2012 when an April freeze followed by a rapid warm up led to failure of the crop where some of the growers lost their entire production.

There are approximately 55,000 acres of orchards in New York that produce apples. For several farms in Wisconsin the Labour Day weekend marks the opening of apple season.

The Wisconsin Apple Growers Association says most of the farms are open now and maximum farmers have reported to get an average or better than average apple crop. Most varieties of apples are showing good results, however some farmers feel that a small portion of their crops are still feeling the effect of the harsh winter that they faced last year.