Orchard (apple and pear, semi-dwarf)
What it earns, what it costs and what it asks of your week.
Every figure on this page is the template's own, an extension estimate and not a measurement of any farm. Your own hours and harvests calibrate it once you log them.
Where the numbers come from
- MI · Michigan State University Extension, Michigan Apple Cost of Production 2025 (E-3533), 2025 primary
- PA · Penn State Extension, Tree Fruit Production Guide budgets, 2021
- KY · University of Kentucky, Center for Crop Diversification, Economic Considerations for Apple Production in Kentucky (CCD-FS-14), 2020
- KY · University of Kentucky, Center for Crop Diversification, Apples, crop profile, 2019
- US · NCAT / ATTRA, Apples: Organic Production Guide, 2011
Figured at 388 trees, the size of operation the primary source describes. Season 7, the first at full production; earlier seasons earn less.
Hours by week
388 trees of Orchard (apple and pear, semi-dwarf) in 2026, week by week. The dashed line is 40 hours, one person's week. The busiest week holds 62 h (Aug 17 to Aug 23).
Weeks that cannot move
Biology or a booking sets these; nothing can reschedule them.
- Harvest: Aug 10 to Aug 30
Where it lands on a mixed farm
Each pair of templates is run together on a made-up farm of one person at 40 hours, the way Farm Draft runs a plan. A week is listed when the scheduler finds work that cannot move, at least 8 hours from each, adding up to more than 40. The weeks are computed, not written: change a template and they change.
| Collides with | Weeks | Worst week | This template | The other | Fixed work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market garden (mixed vegetables) | 2 (Aug 17 to Aug 30) | Aug 17 to Aug 23 | Harvest, 58 h | Market day (shared by every bed), 5 h | 66 h |
| Blackberries | 1 (Aug 10 to Aug 16) | Aug 10 to Aug 16 | Harvest, 17 h | Blackberry picks, 12 h | 41 h |
Not checked, because their sources state no size of operation: Cut flowers (bunches, direct), Hair sheep (pasture lambs), Pastured feeder pigs (whole and half hogs), Stocker cattle (summer grazing).
Tasks
| Task | Hours fixed | Hours per tree | When | Rigidity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dormant pruning | — | 0.15 h a tree | once, Jan 15 to Mar 1 | Floating |
| Spray / scouting | 0.25 h | 0.01 h a tree | every 10 days, Apr 1 to Aug 31 | Flexible, 3 days |
| Thinning | — | 0.05 h a tree | once, May 15 to Jun 15 | Flexible, 7 days |
| Mowing / mulching | 0.5 h | 0.002 h a tree | every 21 days, Apr 1 to Oct 31 | Floating |
| Harvest | — | 0.3 h a tree | once, Aug 15 to Oct 31 | Fixed |
Costs
| Line | Amount | Schedule F |
|---|---|---|
| Spray materials and fertilizer | $4.00 a tree | Chemicals |
Revenue
| Line | Price | Yield | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit (2 bu/tree mature) | $80.00 a tree | 1 tree a tree | 80 lb a tree |
Farm Draft records the tax category of each line and leaves the choice of treatment to your CPA.
Run it on your own farm
Add Orchard (apple and pear, semi-dwarf) next to the rest of what you grow and raise. Farm Draft puts every enterprise in one weekly calendar against the hours you actually have and names the week they collide.
The other templates
- Beef cow-calf
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cut flowers (bunches, direct)
- Hair sheep (pasture lambs)
- Hay (tall fescue, custom baled)
- Honeybees
- Laying hens
- Market garden (mixed vegetables)
- Meat goats (pasture and browse)
- Pastured broilers
- Pastured feeder pigs (whole and half hogs)
- Pick-your-own and event days
- Raspberries
- Stocker cattle (summer grazing)