brewster wrote: ↑Wed Jan 23, 2019 2:46 pmBut it can't add up proportionately. Just like the beer guy says transport is a nominal cost to retail, fuel can't be that big a cost to an orchard. Field crops that get a combine pass for tilling, planting, multiple sprayings, weeding, harvesting, etc, sure.Speaker to Animals wrote: ↑Wed Jan 23, 2019 2:23 pmSpraying, pollinating in some cases, and picking. It's not just one time either. They also have to use vehicles to travel around the grove regularly just like this guy has to walk through his greenhouse every day. That stuff adds up.
Beer is a manufactured product. His energy costs are similar to a greenhouse in that it's all in one spot. Energy costs to run a farm and energy costs to run a greenhouse are completely different. The costs of running a brewery, though higher, are more akin to running a greenhouse.
Check this out, from 2008:
http://flcitrusmutual.com/news/heraldtr ... 21608.aspxThe 100 acres totals $303,250, which sounds great — but then come the expenses.
Chemicals, property taxes, fruit taxes, insurance, caretaking, picking and hauling would cost about $250,000 for Federer’s 100-acre grove.
I am obviously no expert on growing oranges. I just know from experience of growing up next to a large one what goes into it. It's a lot more work and energy than you seem to believe.
This guy in Nebraska is running a profit margin almost ten times better than a large orange grower because he has no co-op to pay into, no distribution costs other than his own truck, and his energy costs are less than a dollar per day. He's obviously not going to make the total profit similar to a 100 acre orchard in Florida, but his profit margin is exponentially better and he's putting a fraction of the actual work into it.
That article is not even taking into account the cost of a band of kids raiding the grove every single day in the Summer either. "I dunno know why these Tangerine trees produce so few fruit.."