Bad example. There are a number (and growing) of organic apple orchards in
the US. The published information I have seen shows they are doing quite
well economically -- no doubt due to the higher price their product brings
on the market.  And they are selling for fresh consumption, not juice, where
appearance is paramount (we can get several varieties locally and they look
as good or better than conventionally grown apples and the taste of several
is much better -- usually due to having been left on the tree to fully
ripen, rather than being picked at a very green stage).


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Harrison

> You simply can not grow a couple hundred acres of apples without spray and
> stay in business . The number  of orchards has  dropped from 17 apple
> orchards to five in our area. With apples selling below the cost of
> production, cost of chemicals and the dangers of chemical
> spraying the other
> 12 have quit the orchard business. Agriculture is a tough place to make a
> living.
>