At one time Colorado was one of the nation’s biggest apple producers, on par with Washington state. Colorado’s apple farmers even won gold medals at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, back in 1904.
But these days, as The Denver Post reports,the state is fast losing its apple orchards. Colorado’s apple industry has been plagued by the same problems that have troubled Washington’s apple growers for decades. There have been water table issues, and then there’s the problem of the coddling moth—that’s the name of the pest that causes worms in apples.
When these troubles brought the Washington apple industry to its knees, the Pacific Northwest state planted new apple trees and forged ahead. But Colorado decided to go a different route, focusing instead on hay, corn, wheat, and—increasingly—marijuana. But a few stalwart apple growers in Colorado are keeping the faith. And this fall, Colorodans will head to the orchards to pick apples.