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Record apple harvest 2025: Children harvest and squeeze fresh juice!
In Holzhausen, children collect apples and learn to press juice. Expect record yields in 2023 and high harvest forecasts for 2025.
Record apple harvest 2025: Children harvest and squeeze fresh juice!
In Holzhausen, where the drizzle fills the air with the pleasant smell of wet apples, the children of the Waldwichtel daycare center are enjoying a happy apple harvest. Britta Hinkers from the Siegen-Wittgenstein Biological Station reports that this season is particularly productive: the 2023 apple harvest is expected to be around 82,327 tons, around 60.1% higher than last year. A good spring without late frost and the excellent pollination performance of the insects contributed to this above-average result.
The children eagerly collect the apples and, accompanied by Hinkers, separate the good fruits from the less tasty ones. Mats enjoys transporting the collected apples in a small wheelbarrow and is proud to be making an important contribution. The apples that have fallen from the tree have a special use: they are made into fresh apple juice, which the children learn with enthusiasm. The joy over the freshly squeezed juice is obvious - people feast and celebrate!
High season for apples in Germany
According to the Tagesschau, the apple harvest in Germany in 2025 is expected to be above average. The first harvest estimate speaks of more than a million tons of apples, which represents not only an increase of 3.9% compared to the ten-year average, but also almost 16% more than in 2024. This development is due to the mild weather conditions that prevailed in many growing areas - without frost and hail during the flowering period.
With 32,700 hectares, the apple is the absolute favorite among the tree fruit varieties in Germany. Most of these apples grow in Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony, where around 68.6% of local apples are harvested. A truly impressive picture when you consider that apples make up an impressive 87.6% of the total tree fruit harvest in Germany.
Insights into the challenges of previous years
Of course we also see the dark side of agriculture. In 2024, the harvest of 872,000 tons fell 12.4% below the ten-year average. This was the second lowest harvest performance since 2014, mainly caused by unfavorable weather conditions, which led to significant losses in some eastern German states. In Saxony, for example, a decline of up to 90% compared to average had to be accepted due to the bad weather.
But hopes are high: forecasts for the coming years show that we are on track for a record harvest that could surpass the last twenty years. The joy of children collaborating with nature and creating delicious apple juice is a beautiful example of how the joy of harvest is passed on across generations.
Visit coverage of these events at Siegen newspaper to learn more about the apple harvest. For details about the agricultural economy in Germany, read the analyzes from daily news and Destatis.