October is National Apple Month! National Apple Month was created to promote apples and honor those across the apple industry. Today we'll explore how farmers are able to ensure apples make it from their farms to our homes all year round. 

Apples are harvested in late summer and early fall; however, we can buy fresh apples from the store all year. This is due to Controlled Atmosphere Storage. Controlled Atmosphere Storage, sometimes referred to as "cold" or "sleep" storage, regulates the temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and humidity in a sealed storage room. A lot of science goes into storing apples – each variety of apple requires its own unique set of conditions for proper storage, and computers help keep the specified conditions constant.

Read the full article and see other images on the American Farm Bureau Foundation blog.