This is the first of a series of articles covering all aspects of planning and establishing a competitive orchard. When planning a new orchard, first of all consider what challenges or problems the orchard needs to address, advises Tom Auvil, research horticulturist with the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission. “Are plantings of the future going to be based on solving our challenges of the future or just the next marketing activity for the next year?” he asked. “If we have marketing issues, and labor issues, and regulatory issues, are our new plantings going to be part of the problem or […]