The later picked apples, are riper and more flavorful but will not keep as well. Therefore they are marketed first and kept in refrigerated rooms that are not sealed. They are stored at 32F. These apples are referred to as cold storage or regular storage fruit. They are generally stored just as they are picked, and then graded and packed as orders are received for them, shortly before being marketed from a retail operation on the premises or before being shipped to supermarkets for resale. Grading, packing and shipping of apples goes on from a few weeks to 12 months depending on the size of the orchard and the manner of marketing the orchard uses.
Some orchards have the facilities to store, grade and pack all their own fruit.
Others have all or part of their crop stored and packed by a cooperative facility. After harvest there is still work to be done before winter arrives. Any equipment left in the orchard needs to be collected and put under cover. Tree limbs broken by too heavy a fruit load need to be sawed off. One last mowing is done to keep the grass from providing too much cover to rodents.