RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has pronounced the state’s 2014 apple crop “very good.”

The department says growers have been harvesting their fruits since August, when the earliest varieties started ripening. But prime apple season typically kicks in this month and continues through November.

Commissioner Sandra J. Adams says Virginia is the nation’s No. 6 apple-growing state.

The USDA reports that apples were Virginia’s 15th largest agricultural commodity in 2012. Farm cash receipts totaled $54 million that year.

This year, the USDA expects apple production to total 180 million pounds.

Virginia is home to 150 commercial apple growers.

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