Every year orchards are purchased or planted by people who have
no experience in growing apples. For some, an orchard will be a
challenge and a source of personal satisfaction and profit. For
others, it may be a source of frustration and a bad investment.
It’s important to become familiar with the business of producing
and selling apples before investing your time, energy, and money.
Here are some points you should consider if you are thinking about
starting or purchasing an orchard.
Experience
If you have had no previous experience in orchard management, consider
working for a successful orchardist for at least a year to learn
about the operation. If that’s not possible, be certain that
a competent manager or qualified consultant can be employed before
you decide to purchase an orchard.
Orchard Size
Apple production requires a lot of labor. A permanent labor supply
for spraying, pruning, and general maintenance must be available.
Additional seasonal labor will also be needed for harvesting and
packing the fruit. Although every farm system is unique, 10 acres
could be considered a minimum size for a commercial apple-growing
enterprise. A 10-acre operation is large enough to use equipment
efficiently and implement a continuous orchard renovation program,
yet small enough that one person can take care of most of the work.
Larger orchards can make more efficient use of machinery and equipment,
but more hired labor, and thus more management skill, will be required.
Management
Apple growing is an enterprise that requires a great deal of knowledge
on the part of the orchard owner or manager. Making a profit growing
apples in Minnesota (or anywhere else) can be done only with intense
management, from variety selection through planting, training, controlling
pests, thinning fruit, harvesting, handling, and marketing. If you
are considering orcharding as a career or a business opportunity,
you must be willing to learn about and keep up-to-date with production
practices.
Start-Up Costs
Apple growing requires a very substantial capital investment. Many
potentially successful orchards have failed simply due to lack of
sufficient operating capital. Be sure you have the capital to purchase
and operate an orchard before signing any agreement or sale contract.
From the year of planting until the year that crop returns equal
or exceed annual costs, the apple grower will make a large investment.
Dwarf trees may begin bearing a small crop their third year in the
ground; these trees will not reach full productivity until the sixth
or seventh year after planting.
Establishment Costs per Acre
Penn State has several worksheets in their 2002-2003 Pennsylvania
Tree Fruit Production Guide that can be used to help estimate
costs for:
Ohio State also has worksheets for estimating:
Both the Ohio State and Penn State worksheets assume slightly lower
tree densities than is probably optimal. If dwarf trees are planted
at 8 foot by 14 foot spacing, there will be 388 to the acre.
These cost estimate sheets do not include costs for tree stakes.
A permanent stake should be provided for each dwarf tree, so this
cost should be added to your planting budget. Planting year costs
include trees, tree guards, stakes, labor to plant and train trees,
fertilizer and pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides,
rodenticides, and/or bactericides).
Non-bearing year costs include pesticides and the labor for pruning,
training, mowing, and pest control. Remember, after the fifth year,
production costs will increase while yields and income are also
increasing. As the trees get larger, they will require more pest
control chemicals to achieve good coverage, and more pruning, and
it will be more time-consuming to harvest the fruit. Costs of $4,000
to $5,000 per acre can be expected.
Hiring honeybee hives and thinning fruit are additional costs in
bearing years. Advertising and packing costs will vary depending
on how the fruit is to be marketed. A pick-your-own orchard will
not have high harvest costs, but will pay workers to do things that
other orchards don’t, such as to drive the customers on wagons
around the orchard, or to entertain crowds to attract them to the
orchard. This kind of orchard is also likely to have higher insurance
costs.
Deer Fencing
One site preparation expense not included in these worksheets is
that of fencing the orchard to keep deer out. Fencing costs vary
considerably, depending on type of fence chosen, materials used,
size and layout of orchard. The Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources can help you design a deer
fence for your orchard.. Deer fencing should be considered essential
to successful apple production in Minnesota. Young trees in particular
are attractive to deer, and can be killed in a single season of
heavy browsing. Hanging bars of soap, human hair, or other repellants
in the trees might be effective, but it might not—you can’t
count on repellants.
One alternative to deer fencing could be keeping guard dogs in
the orchard; there will be another set of costs associated with
this method of pest control. Do not plan to simply shoot the deer
“as needed.” Special permits for killing animals harming
your crop are available from the DNR; however, no matter how many
deer you kill or have killed, more will soon replace them, and continue
to damage your trees.
Income Potential
You could expect to have income from the trees after the fifth year.
Yields from dwarf trees planted at a density of 300 to 400 trees
per acre in Minnesota range from about 300 bushels per acre to 500
or more bushels per acre. Figuring that a bushel of apples weighs
about 40 pounds, an acre of trees at this density should produce
at least 16,000 pounds of fruit, and on a good site, with favorable
climatic conditions and excellent management, as much as 20,000
pounds.
Not all of the production will be saleable; figure about 60% packout
when you make income projections; somewhat less for pick-your-own,
since customers will not be as thorough pickers as hired harvesters,
and they may eat a significant amount of fruit without purchasing
it.
Prices for fruit will depend on how it is marketed: pick-your-own,
pre-picked on-farm sales, farmers’ market sales, or wholesale
in bulk to a packer. At some pick-your-own orchards in Minnesota,
many varieties sell for about $1.00 per pound; pre-picked fruit
costs about $1.25. The same fruit, wholesaled to a packer, might
be worth only ten cents per pound.
Some varieties command a higher price than others, prices will
vary from year to year, and yields will also vary. Don’t assume
that planting lots of Honeycrisp and no lower-value apples will
allow you to beat the average. The only way most Minnesota orchard
businesses make money is by retailing the fruit, and by having a
diverse business that includes a bakery, a cider pressing operation,
entertainment, or all of the above. Some orchardists grow other
fruits and/or vegetables as well as apples. Many of these profit-generating
activities were not part of the original plan for the orchard, but
grew out of necessity.
It makes good business sense to draw up a marketing plan with assistance
from a consultant before you plant the first tree. Figure out who
will buy your apples and how you will sell them. Decide what will
define your orchard and make people want to come to your farm or
farmers’ market stand rather than going to someone else’s
or going to a grocery store.
As you pencil out the financial outlook for your planned orchard,
you may wish to consult the Small
Business Administration for assistance in formulating a business
plan. SBA staff can work with you estimate costs for buildings,
land, equipment, and insurance; and help you figure out when you
can expect to break even. The SBA website also has startup
tools, checklists, and resources to help you through the process
of creating a successful business.
Quality of Life
Many Minnesota apple growers are making decent livings, doing work
they enjoy. But for these growers, as well as for those whose businesses
are not as successful, producing apples is difficult, and can be
physically and emotionally overwhelming. Orchardists, their families,
and their employees work nonstop from August into November. Sleep
deprivation during the fall is a fact of life for them.
Many people prefer not to purchase, handle, apply, and store pesticides.
This is a sensible notion, since many of these materials are quite
toxic. However, apple growing requires pest control, achieved through
a number of means, including spraying pesticides. Organic apple
production is currently not profitable in Minnesota, and in any
case, many pesticides used in organic production are dangerous to
handlers and applicators, just as conventional pesticides are. Unless
you are willing to take on spraying crop protection materials as
a primary part of your job, managing an orchard is not for you.
Additional Information
Many books, trade publications, and magazines from around the country
are available for more information about growing apples. It is strongly
recommended that you consult as many resources as possible before
making a final decision about starting an orchard.
Books
Temperate Zone Pomology by M. N. Westwood. 1993. W. H. Freeman
and Company. San Francisco. An in-depth book about both the culture
and physiology of fruit growing
Modern Fruit Science by Norman Childers.1995. Horticultural
Publications. Rutgers University. New Brunswick, New Jersey. A very
practical hands-on guide
Growing Fruit in the Upper Midwest by Don Gordon. 1997.
University of Minnesota. Focuses on site selection, soil types,
pruning, fertilization, harvesting, pests, preventing winter injury,
and proper cultivar selection for fruit production in Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
Periodicals
The
American Fruit Grower
A monthly publication written for commercial fruit growers containing
information on technology, research findings, biotechnology, and
pest control.
Good Fruit Grower
Based in Washington, this publication focuses on world and local
production issues and research findings. Fruit Grower News
A monthly publication with an edition that can be viewed online.
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