Casey Evans
Honey Wood Orchard
Every month, we at British Apple Consortium interview one of our apple growers as part of our Grower Highlight to shed much-needed light on apple growing in the UK.
​
This month we met with Casey Evans of the Honey Wood Orchard...
BAC: Hi Casey, I am anxious to hear about organic farming, but let’s start with information about your orchard. Where is it located, and how many acres do you farm?
CE: Honey Wood Orchard is a 400 acre site located in gorgeous Hertfordshire that has been in my family for over 100 years and is currently managed by myself and my brother.
​
BAC: What kind of fruit is growing organic in the orchards?
CE: We specialise in growing organic apples. Currently, we are about 70% organic; the rest is still in transition. We will eventually be 100% organic.
​
BAC: Why the decision to start transitioning to organic?
CE: We started transitioning our orchard to organic about 15 years ago when organic wasn’t famous yet. It was considered a crazy move back then! People grow organic for different reasons, but we feel like it is the right thing to do. We are proud of our apples and feel we are delivering a high-quality product.
​
BAC: What does the future hold for Honey Wood Orchard?
CE: My brother and I both have young children interested in taking over the orchard in the future. The family business is set up so that our children will have the opportunity to buy into it, so it will stay in the family and eventually transition over to them. The only way we feel we can compete in this ever-changing industry is to work together as a family. There are some great models in our sector of families who have done this. We hope to incorporate what we learned from those businesses and pass it down to our children. We also want to be progressive enough to make it possible for them to come back after they have earned their education.
BAC: Tell us about your organic Golden Delicious apples; I hear they have a story!
CE: Over the last ten years, we have identified what varieties the fresh market wants and doesn’t want. We have developed an organic processor market for the Golden Delicious, which goes into baby food. How incredible to think about feeding babies’ organic fruit!
​
BAC: That is exciting! Where do you think the organic market is going from here?
CE: The organic demand is good from a grower’s perspective. We believe that as millennials hit the workforce, they will be consuming more and more organic fruits, vegetables, and dry goods. You see more organic out there than you did even five years ago; that is because of growing demand and awareness.
BAC: Thanks so much for your time, Casey, and good luck with harvest this year!