Orchard industry faces potential decline

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Johnny Appleseed where are you?|ret||ret||tab|

Missouri is seeing its orchard businesses disappear as owners age and the increased cost of doing business deters many start-up owners.|ret||ret||tab|

Due to the cost of operations, younger orchard investors are getting harder to find. Bob Wiles, who along with his wife, Sarah, owns Wiles Orchard in Marionville, said the future of his 62-year-old orchard is uncertain.|ret||ret||tab|

"I don't think anybody would want (to buy) it. They'd buy it as a farm but not as an orchard," Wiles said. "I've been years accumulating what we have; I don't think it would be profitable for a young man to try (to invest). Land is high, trees are expensive, and I just don't believe it would be justified unless you already have the equipment and so forth." The 81-year-old owner said when he is tired of the business, it could mean clearing the land of apple trees.|ret||ret||tab|

Michele Warmund, state fruit specialist, said while there are some young people coming into the business, the majority of growers are aging and the market is decreasing.|ret||ret||tab|

"We do have fewer apple growers than we did 10 years ago, and it is tough to grow apples in Missouri. The really tough thing is that it is hard to start a brand new operation. It's not an inexpensive enterprise because you have to manage the trees year after year, and if you have a bad infestation one year, that's with you the next year and the next year," Warmund said.|ret||ret||tab|

Currently, there are 45 registered apple orchards in Missouri including eight in Greene, Webster, Christian and Lawrence counties. |ret||ret||tab|

In 1904, there were 25 million apple trees planted in Missouri that produced a crop worth $30 million (about $501 million in today's dollars), according to University of Missouri's department of horticulture. |ret||ret||tab|

Missouri produced 41 million pounds of apples worth $7 million in 2001, but numbers were down to 38 million pounds of apples worth $6.8 million in 2002, according to Marlowe Schlegel, Missouri's deputy state statistician for the Department of Agriculture. The 2003 crop is expected to yield 34 million pounds of apples.|ret||ret||tab|

According to the Missouri Department of Agriculture's most recent agriculture report in 1997, there were 461 farms with 4,701 acres producing apples and 419,399 trees. This is a drop compared to 1992, which had 539 farms consisting of 5,165 acres and 459,267 trees. Schlegel said he expects 2002 to show a decline but data has not been verified.|ret||ret||tab|

Nationally, Missouri ranks 15th in production but makes up just 3 percent of the nation's production.|ret||ret||tab|

State production rates are far below other states, including Washington, New York, Michigan and Virginia, which make up the largest share of nationwide production. |ret||ret||tab|

Bob and Sara Herndon, owners of the Herndon Orchard in Marionville, said the investment needed for operation makes it difficult to pass on the family business. |ret||ret||tab|

"We are not sure how we will continue. Nobody can afford to do it and that is the truth. To start up it would be very costly, and insurance and all those things that go with it. Our kids can't afford to quit their jobs they have and work for us. They work for us some, but just temporary and part-time, but it's a full-time thing for us to maneuver," Sara Herndon said.|ret||ret||tab|

David Murphy, owner of Murphy's Orchard in Seymour and Marionville, said the profits from an orchard do not compare to many other industries.|ret||ret||tab|

"It's so expensive to get into. (My kids) graduated college and they can make more money working five days than I can in seven," Murphy said. |ret||ret||tab|

Bob Herndon said he would probably not sell his land to another orchard owner but would consider leasing it. No definite decision has been made. Herndon said it would be difficult to see someone else run the orchard, "because no one else would do it like me."|ret||ret||tab|

Murphy said he would consider leasing an orchard if the crop was right, but he does not want to over extend.|ret||ret||tab|

Jan Wooten, owner of Sunshine Valley Farm, said she plans to stay in the business 10 years, and after that there are no plans, but leasing the restaurant, the most successful part of her business, is an option to consider.|ret||ret||tab|

But as more orchard owners retire from the business, Warmund said it does not mean production will cease to exist in Missouri.|ret||ret||tab|

"I absolutely believe there will always be demand for locally grown produce. People in Missouri are very loyal. I think most consumers would prefer to produce locally grown produce as long as they can afford it," Warmund said.|ret||ret||tab|

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