Best Permiculture, Sustainable, And Organic Orchards In The US?

Hi guys.

I've reached a point where I'm ready to spend some time working on a profitable permaculture / sustainable / organic fruit orchard somewhere in the US, either as an intern or employee. It's my goal to own a small orchard myself, but I need some hands on experience.

My preference is in the South, Southwest, or Westen part of the country (warmer areas).

My criteria is that they make the majority of their income from the production and sale of fresh fruit from trees. They must be a profitable business that supports at least one person full time, not a backyard operation. I want them to be organic at the least, but preferably fairly sustainable in terms of inputs, and it would be amazing if they were doing permaculture.

Can anyone make any suggestions?

Thanks.

Andrew,

You could look into Hoch Orchards - They are organic and sell almost entirely fruit products. I visited last year, and it's a great place. They're working on a variety of permaculture-type stuff like integrating hogs into the orchard setting. They've very conscience of beneficial insects and Harry Hoch is a wealth of knowledge in fruit production. If I were younger and not about to have a kid, I'd be trying to go out there to intern.

Only thing is that it's in Minnesota, not the south by any means(ha). It's really a beautiful place though.

Joe

Thank you, that is a great website and certainly offers something to learn from for some of the rest of us too. Sometimes it is just wonderful to have these kinds of examples.

http://www.chaffinfamilyorchards.com/

Awesome! Chaffin Family Orchards looks like what I'm looking for. Hopefully I can work something out.

Tyler Ludens wrote:http://www.chaffinfamilyorchards.com/