<p><img class="small-cropped-image" src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacySmallCroppedImages/Douglas H. Fisher small.jpg" alt="Cropped Images August 27th" />Douglas H. Fisher, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture, picked peaches today at Battleview Orchards in Freehold Township to showcase the continuing Jersey peach season, according to a press release. With New Jersey peaches ranking fourth in the nation, he encouraged consumers to seek out these top fruit crops wherever they shop, mentioning that now through mid-September is a great time to reach for a Jersey peach.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “Our peach season has been expanding over the years, with new varieties that ripen well into September,” said Santo John Maccherone, New Jersey Peach Promotion Council chairman and State Board of Agriculture member. “This year, especially, our peach season got off to a late start and we’ll have abundant peaches through September. In fact, growers are picking the best, most flavorful varieties right now. So, consumers should take advantage of that for as long as they last.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Scott Applegate, owner of Battleview Orchards and its twenty acres of peaches, said they expect to be picking peaches through at least September 15, overlapping for a couple of weeks with their pick-your-own apples, giving visitors of a variety of Jersey Fresh fruit from which to choose.<iframe width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Z1nE1aMHtN4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>“From now to the end of the peach season is the best quality and best flavor of the year,” said Applegate. “Peaches are great for eating, canning, and freezing.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Secretary Fisher said the weather is perfect at this time of year to visit a pick-your-own farm to pick peaches for a fun family outing. To find a farm, go to the Jersey Fresh website at www.jerseyfresh.nj.gov.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
