Purchasing cider apples in the US

[John Schroeder]

Hi All,

I was hoping someone might be able to give me a rough idea of what one
might expect to pay for a metric ton of apples in the US, assuming one
was contracting for mid-atlantic delivery by full truckload. A couple
of specifics to narrow the things down:

The apples obviously would NOT need to be beautiful, large (but
underripe) apples suitable for retail sales, as they would be pressed,
but I wouldn't want juicing apples in poor condition either.

Suitable varieties would include those suitable for cider but still
grown commercially, ie winesap, liberty, stayman, etc but not golden
delicious, or other "supermarket" apples. I would also be interested
if anyone can put a price per metric ton on true cider apples, but my
assumption is that they are unavailable for commercial purchase in
quantity here in the US.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards,

John

[Dick Dunn]

On Wed, Mar 02, 2011 at 08:43:37AM -0800, John Schroeder wrote:
> I was hoping someone might be able to give me a rough idea of what one
> might expect to pay for a metric ton of apples in the US, assuming one

> was contracting for mid-atlantic delivery by full truckload...
...

> Suitable varieties would include those suitable for cider but still
> grown commercially, ie winesap, liberty, stayman, etc but not golden
> delicious, or other "supermarket" apples. I would also be interested
> if anyone can put a price per metric ton on true cider apples, but my
> assumption is that they are unavailable for commercial purchase in
> quantity here in the US.

In past years, Steve Wood in New Hampshire has sold his excess production
of cider apples. I don't believe he did this last fall, as he had a very
poor year from all accounts, tho I did hear of him selling some juice.

Looking back in the Cider Digest, I see he had offered Ellis Bitter, Major,
Yarlington Mill, Chisel Jersey, Ashton Bitter, Somerset Redstreak, Bulmer's
Norman, Dabinett, Kingston Black, and Michelin.

Prices ranged from $240 to $165 per bin depending on quantity; that was
FOB the orchard so you'd have to arrange and pay transport. And again,
this was in the past, most recently 2009.

Terry Bradshaw in VT has also sold cider-base juice in past years, tho I
think he's geared to much smaller quantities. His is a blend of some
multi-purpose fruit with bittersweets and bittersharps.
--
Dick Dunn rc...@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA

[from Heather]

I'm still scaling up to work with a bin. I've tried searching for how much (weight) a bin is of apples. I understand that the size of the apple will effect the weight of a bin, but I've had answers wildly different. I finally settled on 700 lbs based on http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/pages/J3I4C.

I also ask because if I pay $240 a bin, at 700 lbs, that would be about $0.34 a pound... not bad. Not bad at all if I'm working with the right weight.

Heather4

> Prices ranged from $240 to $165 per bin depending on quantity; that was
> FOB the orchard so you'd have to arrange and pay transport. And again,
> this was in the past, most recently 2009.
>

[Dick Dunn]

On Wed, Mar 02, 2011 at 07:10:11PM +0000, from Heather wrote:
> I'm still scaling up to work with a bin. I've tried searching for how much

> (weight) a bin is of apples...

A bin is 15 bushels.
So...you can replace the question of "how much a bin weighs" with "how much
a bushel weighs":-)

Figures given for the weight of a bushel of apples range from 40 to 48 lb,
with the lower number seeming to be more common.

600 lb is a common "rule of thumb" for a bin of apples.

All US measure; sorry.
--

[John Schroeder]

Thanks Dick and Heather, very helpful. Any idea what just plain old
desert apples suitable for cider might cost in quantity? I'm assuming
less than cider apples, but really don't know.

[Galen]

Hi John,

We have purchased dessert apples for cider over the past few years and
have paid around $100 per bin. This has been for no more than 5 bins
at a time so you will likely be able to find it less expensive in
larger volume purchases. I have also heard of prices as low as $40-50
per bin in January or February when some growers want to shut down
their cold store facilities but the quality of fruit might not be
acceptable.

Galen
Portland, OR

[Nat West]

I have bought bins of dessert and cider apples from multiple orchards (some retail, some wholesale) for the past three years, all in Oregon. Some in the Willamette Valley, some near Hood River.

On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 11:10 AM, from Heather <for_h...@hotmail.com> wrote:

I understand that the size of the apple will effect the weight of a bin, but I've had answers wildly different.

 

I have found that the size of the apple tends not to have much bearing on the weight of the bin. A bin of Lady apples (tiny) weigh about as much the mutant-huge Jonagolds I get.

On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 1:13 PM, Dick Dunn <rc...@talisman.com> wrote:

600 lb is a common "rule of thumb" for a bin of apples.

Maybe Rocky Mountain bins are smaller than Pacific Northwest bins, but the "rule of thumb" around here is 700-800 pounds, quoted to me from numerous orchards. I know that's quite accurate for some of my past purchases because I have re-sold bins of apples by the pound and have come out with about 750. And I have picked a bin myself, the orchard charged me per-pound, and for 700 pounds.

On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 8:58 AM, Galen <galenaw...@gmail.com> wrote:

We have purchased dessert apples for cider over the past few years and have paid around $100 per bin.  ...I have also heard of prices as low as $40-50

per bin in January or February when some growers want to shut down their cold store facilities 

And I agree with Galen on this price. I have paid as low as $65 for the above-mentioned Ladys, $100 for Jonagold and Gala and Honeycrisp, $130 for Newtown Pippin and $80 for true cider apples, when I picked them off the ground as windfalls after the main harvest. (Don't think I'll do many repeats of that back-breaking exercise.)

These prices are all for pickup at the orchard, but it's really not too hard to borrow a full-size pickup truck and utility trailer here in the States. Each of those can hold two bins without a problem (they're 4x4 feet) for a total of 2400 pounds of apples in one drive. Or you can rent a U-Haul type box van, possibly even with a lift-gate so you don't have to empty apples by hand in order to return the truck. Your only serious consideration should be the length of the drive. None of the orchards I've dealt with offer delivery.

-Nat West, Portland Oregon

[Dick Dunn]

On Thu, Mar 03, 2011 at 10:04:16AM -0800, Nat West wrote:
...

> On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 1:13 PM, Dick Dunn <rc...@talisman.com> wrote:
>
> > 600 lb is a common "rule of thumb" for a bin of apples.
>
> Maybe Rocky Mountain bins are smaller than Pacific Northwest bins, but the
> "rule of thumb" around here is 700-800 pounds, quoted to me from numerous

> orchards...

OK, I was going on what I'd heard mostly from the east coast. Bin-size
quantities of apples aren't that common around here.

[Nat West]

On Thu, Mar 03, 2011 at 10:04:16AM -0800, Nat West wrote:

> Maybe Rocky Mountain bins are smaller than Pacific Northwest bins, but the
> "rule of thumb" around here is 700-800 pounds, quoted to me from numerous

> orchards...

One thing I was going to mention in my previous email: I have found that the variance in bin weights is frequently attributable to the fullness of the bin. Some orchards I buy from fill the bins so high that a stacked bin on top crushes some of the apples. Other orchards leave a couple inches of headspace. That few inches is easily 50 pounds. That's why it's called a "bin price", and not per-pound.

-Nat West, Portland Oregon

[greg l.]

I know from grape picking that if bins get bounced around a bit in the
vineyard you get a fair bit of settlement, then you can fit more fruit
in. Its a variable measure, all our bins get weighed, the total ranges
from 330kg to 480kg, depending on the variety and how much you fill
the bin.

Greg

[Rich Anderson]

One way to approximate bin weight would be to measure the bin, calculate the
cubic feet and determine what a cubic foot of apples weight in at. The
figure that sticks in my head is about 25-28 pounds. Bins tend to vary a
bit, typically ours old ones seem to be approximately 48" X 48" X 24". But
the length and width seem to vary on some, but the 700 pound mark is about
right.

[Michael Thierfelder]

I know this thread is old and moldy but in the hopes of resurrecting some good info on local orchards to work with (unless that's a trade secret), where did you go to get such a good price?  I went to Cody last fall and paid $80 for two bushels of Newton Pipps, but that was when they had all the touristy stuff going on with cake walks and cute little hand wrapped banana breads for $7.

I've been working with B&P Hitz in Woodburn but still paying fruit stand prices of $20/bushel.  

Any tips you can drop on the DL would be great, I'm in Portland too.

[womblesd]

To bad you are not in the Midwest, as I might have extra vintage cider apples this year.  I would sell my excess and you could come pick them :)

Dan Wombles

Pike County, IL

[Michael Thierfelder]

Nat, do you have any advice for how to negotiate prices for bins at a time purchases?   Is there a standard going rate at most orchards for seconds?

[Jeff Hensgen]

Hi guys - hoping Galen might still be around on this old thread. I'm in the Portland area, looking for a source for a bin of apples - used to buy through Spicer Bros produce in Oregon City but they just went out of business. Appreciate it if you have any leads! 

Jeff

[Ray Blockley]

Can all replies to this be made OFF LIST please? Thank you.

Ray
Admin

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[Wes Cherry]

There have been a number of source queries to the list for apples in England that have been allowed in the past weeks.

How is this different? There are many many list members in the pacific northwest and apple sources are of interest to them.

-Wes

> To post to this group, send an email to cider-w...@googlegroups.com.

[Ray Blockley]

It's always been standard practice to ask for replies off list.