On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:42:46 -0500, Karl Townsend
wrote:

...
Is that when you switched to Honeycrisp, or had you planted/grafted
them that way from the start?


AND there's time to go fishing.

Great!

So, did the near crop failure result in the loss of 80% of your trees?
From "cut all expenses" to "20% of the volume" is a massive jump.

I was big in Honeycrisp before it was even named.

Before it was going for gawdawful prices?


For several years I
sold a great deal of budwood to several nurseries.

I hope you got good money for it.


I'm removing blocks due to old age now.

Blocks = acreage?


The crop loss was just a spring freeze, so no long term damage and I
had the entire year to plan my moves. being a grower is a bit like
playing cards, you have to learn to play the hand you're dealt.

Yeah, farmers have always been players.


Believe or not, my top three worst years were bumper crops. My two
best years were small crops. In other words if you lose money on every
bushel, you can't make up for it with volume.

Were the bad years bad because everyone else had a bumper crop, too,
and prices dumped?


BTW, 60 is just a kid, right?

Right. But if I ache like this at 60, I hate to think of living past
70, and don't get me started thinking about 80 or 90... Ayieeeeeeeee!

--
The more you know, the less you need.
-- Aboriginal Saying