LANSING, Mich. — For Richard Koziski, apples aren’t his life, but they are a critical part of his business. For the past 25 years he has been the owner of the Dexter Cider Mill, the oldest and longest continuously running cider mill in Michigan.

Koziski gets most of his apples from various orchards in the area, but he also owns a small orchard. He said the season is getting off to a slow start this year because the weather is relatively warm and the leaves aren’t turning color quickly. He said people need these conditions in order to feel like it’s time to go to the cider mill. Also, he said people are hurting financially, so they’re being careful not to spend much.

He said the size and quality of the apple crop very much affects his business, even though his main business is not as a grower. “Last year we had a very poor crop in Michigan, and we had to scramble for apples,” Koziski said. “Last year we had to look farther away for apples. Of course, there’s a much larger crop this year. I would guess that we would not have as large a crop next year.”

He said apple trees seem to need a year to recover after a year of high production. He said apples at his orchard are “hanging down like grapes” this year.

Denise Donahue, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, said everything came together weather-wise this year to produce an excellent crop.

“It’s been a great year,” she said. “The apple crop did not suffer from the drought last July because the trees are deep-rooted. It was a late spring, blossoming was one of the latest on record and there wasn’t any frost. A year ago we were down about 30 percent because of frosts in between blossoming and harvests.”

According to the latest crop report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, 19 percent of the apple crop has been harvested so far, compared with a five-year average of 26 percent. Donahue said the 26.1 million-bushel figure is just an estimate, but at this point she’s pretty sure it’s accurate.

“We won’t know the actual figures until just about a year from now,” she said. “These are USDA estimates. They have a very scientific, statistical way of getting information from growers. We’re constantly revising the figures, but we’re very confident in the 26.1 million bushels figure.”

That’s 40 percent larger than the average apple crop in Michigan.

Scott Swindeman, owner of Applewood Orchards in Deerfield, grows apples on 600-plus acres of land. He said this year’s is not what he would describe as a bumper crop.

“It’s a nice crop, it’s an above-average crop, but not as big as the 2009 crop,” he explained.

Michigan is the third-largest producer of apples in the nation, behind only Washington and New York, and produces 20 different varieties of apples. To learn more about the apple-growing industry in Michigan, visit www.michigan apples.com