ISHS Acta Horticulturae 557: VII International Symposium on Orchard and Plantation Systems
CHERRIES UNDER COVER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM - AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS |
| Authors: | M.B. Cahn, C.J. Atkinson, A.D. Webster |
| Keywords: | rain covers, cracking, cash flow, net present value, internal rate of return |
| Abstract:
There has been a resurgence of interest in growing cherries in the United Kingdom in recent years. Problems of poor quality, inconsistent yields, bacterial canker and tree vigour have been largely overcome by the development of dwarfing rootstocks, new cultivars, more intensive planting, and effective and economic covering systems which reduce cracking. An economic study was carried out in 1997 that compared three cherry planting systems (single row, double row and triple row), with and without rain covers. Data were collected from British cherry growers and the Horticulture Research International (East Malling) orchard. A spreadsheet model was developed which produced cash flows for 1 ha of cherries and calculated net present values (NPVs), internal rates of return (IRRs), and payback periods. Results indicated that growing cherries without covers was economically very risky for all three planting systems, with small reductions in expected price or yield leading to negative NPVs. The NPVs of the double and triple row systems with covers were similar over an 11 year period (£33,198 and £35,848 respectively) and higher than the NPV of the covered single row system (£17,264). IRRs for the double and triple row systems with covers were also similar (22% and 21% respectively) while for the single row covered system the IRR was 15%. The break even price for the double and triple row covered systems at the expected yields was between £1.87 and £1.88 per kilogram. | |
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