Fair enough, but I think even with a $0.50 spot price we’re looking $3 million in gross revenue, of which the workers can be expected to receive roughly $125,000. Other inputs, like fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, mulch, etc. don’t grow on trees and can get expensive, and a quick google suggests the farmer’s margin is anywhere from 10-35%, so it’s possible Pryor is taking home the high six figures from these trees.
Hey I just like talking about the price of tree fruit. It’s never boring, that’s for sure. I couldn’t tell you exactly what kind of money growers are making. Enough to have a lobby in Congress I guess.
Mulch does grow on trees, it is trees. Fertilizer and herbicides mostly get used on annual crops.
I would estimate that the picking labor is close to ½ of all the production labor for apples, though. Source: I worked on an apple orchard once.
At a conservative picking estimate from the article of 10,000 pounds a day, or $5000 of product realized at the end of production, we would have maybe $2000 in property tax and vehicle operating costs and pesticides combined, then 12 labor hours that went into planting, straightening, weed-eating, deploying pesticides on, and pruning the apple trees for the 8 hours it took to pick them clean. It’s still 20 labor hours for $3000 of product.
But 12k pounds a day is insane. IIRC it was a good day if I managed 1000 pounds an hour.
Fair enough, but I think even with a $0.50 spot price we’re looking $3 million in gross revenue, of which the workers can be expected to receive roughly $125,000. Other inputs, like fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, mulch, etc. don’t grow on trees and can get expensive, and a quick google suggests the farmer’s margin is anywhere from 10-35%, so it’s possible Pryor is taking home the high six figures from these trees.
Hey I just like talking about the price of tree fruit. It’s never boring, that’s for sure. I couldn’t tell you exactly what kind of money growers are making. Enough to have a lobby in Congress I guess.
Mulch does grow on trees, it is trees. Fertilizer and herbicides mostly get used on annual crops.
I would estimate that the picking labor is close to ½ of all the production labor for apples, though. Source: I worked on an apple orchard once.
At a conservative picking estimate from the article of 10,000 pounds a day, or $5000 of product realized at the end of production, we would have maybe $2000 in property tax and vehicle operating costs and pesticides combined, then 12 labor hours that went into planting, straightening, weed-eating, deploying pesticides on, and pruning the apple trees for the 8 hours it took to pick them clean. It’s still 20 labor hours for $3000 of product.
But 12k pounds a day is insane. IIRC it was a good day if I managed 1000 pounds an hour.