Apple orchard microbusiness
The Apple Grower
by Michael Phillips documents two men's journey toward making a living
on an organic apple orchard. At the time of the book's writing,
the author and his partner had been running their orchard for five
years and had made their way to a lofty hourly wage of $3.50.
Okay, so their endeavor
is clearly a labor of love funded in part by their wives' full time
jobs. In fact, the book read like a cautionary tale, a reminder
that even though we love growing things, agriculture is far from the
best way to make a buck.
Still, the fact that
their small orchard is even breaking even is quite a coup in this day
and age. I ascribe their moderate success to:
- Value-added products. A large proportion of apples grown organically are never going to look pretty enough to be sold to the general public as is. If turned into fresh and hard cider, jelly, apple butter, and vinegar, though, those low value (but tasty!) fruits turn into top dollar products.
- Attracting tourists. Their operation is built around an old timey, water powered cider mill. Tourists show up just to see the structure, then end up buying apples and cider.
- Mail order. The most beautiful apples and the highest value products are sold through a mail order catalog. The book doesn't mention a website, but that would be my inclination as a way to save on printing costs and attract an even wider audience. In either case, the idea is valid --- sell high value products to a larger customer base and you can charge more realistic prices.
In my opinion, the
orchard has two major problems preventing it from becoming a profitable
microbusiness. First, organic apples aren't really a niche
product --- you can even buy some of the most boring varieties in the
grocery store. Second, apples are heavy so shipping costs
probably deter many buyers.
Still, if you're
dreaming of an agricultural microbusiness, The Apple Grower is a good
book to pick up. If you'd like more tips on starting a profitable
microbusiness of any sort, check out our ebook about starting your
own business and quitting your job.
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