2009 Top Stone Fruit Growers
September 11, 2009 There’s no contesting that the past year has been a challenging one for many stone fruit growers. Reduced acreage and fluctuations in yield have resulted in some growers not getting the margins they deserve or need.
These challenges have led to some significant changes in the 2009 Top Stone Fruit Growers list, which is ranked according to 2008 acreage for peaches, cherries, nectarines, apricots, plums, and prunes owned or leased by one company responsible for maintaining it.
But what these market changes do mean is that there are plenty of opportunities for improvement and growth in the coming years. “Moving ahead, I do think that there should be an opportunity to have the crop priced more in line with its actual production, which is going to be closer to maybe 45 million boxes as opposed to the excess of 50 million and approaching 60 million boxes we’ve been used to over the last few years,� says Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League. “So I think there are some opportunities just in the supply and demand economics of the situation.�
He points out that the product is something consumers want and need — it’s healthy and fits in with America’s growing awareness of nutrition issues and combating obesity. “So I think for fresh fruit in particular, the long-term trend looks very promising for tree fruit growers,� he says.
Give Them What They Want
As for proactive steps growers can take now, Bedwell suggests paying close attention to consumers and reacting to the market accordingly. “I think they [growers] need to look at their varieties and depending upon where they are in the marketing year, make those hard decisions at times to make changes,� Bedwell says. “And with permanent crops, that’s always very difficult. There’s the saying that it’s always much easier to go into the ground than to come out.�
Duke Lane III, vice president of sales at Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley, GA, agrees that the biggest opportunity growers have now is to adapt quickly to meet consumer demands. He points to the popularity of locally grown produce as an example. “I like to call the ‘buy local’ push more of a movement than a trend,� he says. “I believe it is here to stay. Consumers are demanding fresher, better eating fruits and vegetables. It is important for growers to take advantage of this movement.�
Top Stone Fruit Growers |
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|
Rank
|
Company Name |
Total Stone Fruit Acreage
|
Total Acreage |
2008 Rank
|
|||
| Gerawan Farming, CA | 1938 | 6,222 | Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, Plums | Â 9,002 |
1
|
||
| Wawona Packing Co. LLC, CA | 1948 | 5,394 | Peaches, Plums, Nectarines, Apricots | 5,394 |
 2
|
||
| Sunwest Fruit, CA |
1988
|
4,500* | Peaches, Plums, Nectarines, Pluots | 9,000 | |||
|
4
|
Fowler Packing, CA | 1950 | 3,910* | Peaches, Plums, Nectarines | 5,130 | ||
|
5
|
Family Tree Farms, CA | 3,850 | Peaches, Plums, Nectarines, Pluots | 4,000 |
n/a
|
||
| Titan Peach Farms, SC |
1991
|
3,750 | 3,750 |
4
|
|||
| Sun Valley Packing, CA |
1986
|
3,500 | Nectarines, Peaches, Plums | 3,620 | |||
|
8
|
J.W. Yonce & Sons, SC | 1932 | Â 3,200 | Peaches | 3,200 | ||
|
9
|
Cherry Ke Inc., MI | 1972 | 2,944 | Cherries | 2,944 | ||
|
10
|
Thiara Brothers Orchards, CA | 1964 | 2,821* | Peaches, Plums | 6,371 | ||
|
11
|
Taylor Orchards, GA | 2,480 | Peaches | 2,500 |
12
|
||
| Lane Southern Orchards, GA |
1908
|
2,400 | Peaches | 4,600 | |||
|
13
|
Dixie Belle Orchards, SC | 2,070 | Peaches | 2,100 |
14
|
||
| Cherry Bay Orchards, MI |
1994
|
2,000 | Cherries | 2,450 | |||
|
15
|
Valley View Packing, CA | 1938 | 1,900* | Prunes | 1,900 | ||
|
16
|
Orchard View Farms, OR | 1,745 | Cherries | 1,805 |
18
|
||
| Sun World International, CA |
1923
|
1,698 | Apricots, Peaches, Nectarines, Plums | 7,104 | |||
|
18
|
Giannini Packing Corp., CA | 1,608 | Peaches, Plums | 1,608 | n/a | ||
|
19
|
Moonlight Packing Corp., CA | 1993 | 1,604 | Peaches, Nectarines, Plums | 2,709 | ||
|
20
|
Deseret Farms, CA | 1,600* | Prunes | 9,900 |
19
|
||
| Hackert Farms, MI |
1920
|
1,530 | Cherries | 1,530 | |||
|
22
|
McClaskey Orchards, OR | 1,500 | Cherries | 1,500 |
n/a
|
||
| Symms Fruit Ranch, ID |
1914
|
1,460 | Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, Plums, Prunes | 5,035 | |||
|
24
|
Stemilt Growers, WA | 1,300* | Cherries | 7,364 | 24 | ||
|
25
|
Chappell Farms, SC | 1950 | 1,200 | Peaches | 1,200 | ||
| Â *estimated acreage | |||||||
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