Managed Apple Varieties

Project Report

You may remember me from 2011 or 2012 when I interviewed you about your apple production. I was incredibly grateful to all the growers, breeders and marketers who took the time to speak with me. I have since finished my dissertation and started a job in New Zealand. I’ve drafted up this short report to share some of the project results with you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. There is also a list of publications I am working on, and if you are interested in obtaining a copy of an article or would like further information about it, please let me know. All names used in the publications are pseudonyms.

My contact information: Katharine Legun Centre for Sustainability and Department of Sociology, Gender and Social Work University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ Ph: (+64) 4797666 Email: katharine.legun@otago.ac.nz Web: www.katharinelegun.com

 

 

Summary The research project was based around the simple question: what are club apples and why are they emerging in the industry? For those of you that don’t have experience with club or managed varieties, they’re generally apple varieties that are owned, grown, and marketed by a grower cooperative. In asking this question about why clubs are emerging, I attempted to consider what these clubs do that differs from non-club apple production and sale, and why they are appealing. From addressing why clubs exist, I could get a picture of the conventional aspects of the industry that people were reacting against, and what they were hoping to achieve through clubs. Clubs reveal something about the dominant industry infrastructure, while also showing what is being imagined as possible alternatives. Many of the things I found in my research are things that will be obvious to apple producers, but they are very interesting to social scientists studying agricultural economics. My results, which I detail in the second half of this report, suggest that there are mechanisms within the industry that reduce the ability to differentiate apples in the market, which means that more apples compete under the same basic quality rubric. This ultimately puts the grower at an economic disadvantage, and drives decreasing apple prices. In other words, as Jonathan apples become redder and more like Gala apples, which become more like Red Delicious apples, there is more competition among producers but also fewer options for consumers.

In some cases, supermarkets are starting to move away from set standards for produce, and starting to set their own aesthetic parameters to create a very particular type of aesthetic retail space. To some

degree, these changes—as well as the growing number of so-called ‘foodies’ who prioritize varieties and perceived authenticity when purchasing food—can be seen as a backdrop for increased interest in varietals and may present some opportunities for a more diversified marketplace and increased industry stability. Why does it matter? Among scholars of food and agriculture, as well as in the popular media, there has been a growing interest in alternative agricultural commodity chains. Much of the interest lies in the ways that the rules governing food commodity chains, and how they are structured, shape what food is produced and by whom. Many commentators lament the erosion of organic principles, citing co-optation by big business and government standards. Others wonder how mid-sized farms can survive in a world of big suppliers and big buyers, who have a heavy influence on prices. All this is paralleled by an increasing consumer interest in food origins and production practices, propelling the locavore movement, farmers’ markets, and a surge in terroir/AOC schemes. One of the effects of these changes has been an increasing interest in varietals in produce, as a diversity in types of food comes to represent a diversification in food producers, and apples present a perfect case to look at how varieties are playing a part in these broader food movements. From an academic perspective, the way that varieties are used in a market environment is interesting. Firstly, it adds to a growing literature on the ways that different types of crops generate different types of markets. While it may be due, in part, to the decisions made by the people producing the crop, there are also ways that the biological features of the crop play a role in shaping what kinds of decisions people are making. There’s already some good work on bananas (see John Soluri’s Banana Cultures), coffee (Paige’s Coffee and Power) and the classic example, sugar (see Sidney Mintz’s book Sweetness and Power). My work on apples is a contribution to that body of scholarship. Apples reflect contemporary changes in modern patterns of food production particularly well, given their centrality to North American diets and to its history and culture. The great American poet, David Henry Thoreau opens Wild Apples with, “It is remarkable how closely the history of the apple-tree is connected with that of man.” I agree. Apples are a window into trends in fresh food circulation.

 

 

Many recent studies of agricultural commodities have highlighted the ways that produce is becoming more standardized, decreasing the price and creating types of varietal bottlenecks. One interesting feature of apples as a specific type of crop is the ever-present propensity towards diversity. This feature of the apple, and the ways that it has been consistently represented in the market through varieties, is quite unique and allows for different types of manoevering in the marketplace. I’m currently working on a wine project, and in some ways, the similarities between apples and wine are quite striking. The project ended with 43 complete and distinct interviews1 across the Midwest. I also attended numerous field days, two small conferences, and three large national conferences. I should note that the research took place in the Midwest, and has a very Midwest focus. The location was not accidental: the Midwest is one region of the USA where family farming still dominates, and there are still a lot of mid-sized farms. It is also a place with a lot of apple history, and a region where there has been a lot of interest in managed, or “club” apple varieties. Because it had this farm-size and cultural character, it was the perfect site to consider why clubs were popular within this context of conventional food systems and alternative food cultures.

                                                                                                               1  This  excludes  follow-­‐up  interviews  and  interviews  with  multiple  people  at  a  single  interview  site.    

Three themes that emerged Redness

As you all know, the degree to which the surface area of an apple is red relates to the grade of the apple and its market value. Many have suggested that this is the driver of the decline in the quality and price of the red delicious. I have yet to find a comprehensive study that documents consumer preferences for redder apples, although there may be some research conducted by supermarkets and unavailable to the public. I did find research conducted in the 60s2 that found that consumers preferred either very red or very bi-coloured apples, and less mid-range red apples, but nothing with a linear correlation between redness and demand, from what I’ve been able dig up in the science.

Nevertheless, it does seem that the higher price for redder apples, institutionalized through grading standards, benefits some regions more than others. There’s research documenting the development of grades for competitive purposes (Carolyn Dimitri’s work, for example3). Moreover, the price

                                                                                                               2  https://archive.org/details/howcolorofreddel618smit    3  Dimitri,  C.  (2002).  Contract  evolution  and  institutional  innovation:  marketing  pacific-­‐grown  Apples  from  1890  to  1930.  The  Journal  of  Economic  History,  62(01),  189-­‐212.  

 

 

differentiation between various grades of apples (and shades of apple) is an important source of competition in the industry.

What interested me in particular was the tension between the usefulness of colouring as a source of competition and market strategizing, and the role of redness in price decline. Several growers described these apples as “commodity apples,” which would generally be somewhere along a process of increasing redness and decreasing price. Some suggested gala was heading in this direction. It seemed that clubs, or some type of niche production like antique apples or organics or added value, would be used by producers to manage the downward price pressures associated with these more bulk types of production. Technologies and Competition One aspect of the apple industry that surprised me was the collegiality around new technologies, and that isn’t just about new machines, but also new information about best practices. There is a dominant thread in agri-food studies that looks at how new technologies geared towards intensification are related to increased competition and hostility between producers. The corn industry is a classic example: the mechanization of corn production through new, very expensive combines, paired with the development of expensive, GMO seed greatly reduced the number of corn producers and expanded the size of the average corn farm. It also increased hostility between producers and the reduced numbers of farms turned many rural

                                                                                                                                                                                     http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=107195&fileId=S002205070204408X    

communities into ghost towns4. Dwarfing rootstocks are a classic type of intensification technology, but I’ve been quite interested to see how they have some different effects from what we traditionally see in modern forms of intensification, and how there seems to be quite a bit of discussion around the rootstocks between growers.

Many growers in the Midwest suggested that they were consistently talking to their neighbours about practices and strategies. While they might not divulge their most prized strategy secrets, there is a lot of knowledge being exchanged.

There are a couple of very interesting points about this that relate to themes in economic sociology and economic geography. Firstly, the specification in orchards, in both their geography and their market strategy, is counter to types of homogenization that we typically see in industrializing competitive industries. Secondly, the use of technology seems to be participating in a kind of ethic of customization in the Midwest. So, for rootstocks, varieties, and practices, there didn’t seem to be a “one size fits

                                                                                                               4  Michael  Bell’s  book  Farming  For  Us  All  looks  at  the  influence  of  corn  industrialization  on  rural  communities,  as  well  as  new  ways  that  growers  are  responding.  

“I  talked  about  the  Jonagolds.  You  start  with  a  strain  and  then  you  know,  the  marketplace  is  looking  for  more  color,  so  then  you  find  a  limb  mutation  or  some  variation  and  you  get  a  higher  coloring  strain  that  just  packs  out  better  ...  The  same  thing  is  happening  in  the  Honeycrisp.  We  talked  about  northern  Michigan  being  the  ideal  location  for  growing  Honeycrisp.  Well,  now  they’ve  found  a  red  strain...  It  gets  to  be  kind  of  a  treadmill  thing.  You  keep  going  for  more  color,  more  color,  and  then  the  red  strain’s  here.  It’s  not  all  bad.  As  we  evolve,  it  might  be  the  thing  to  do.  We  do  it  constantly  with  McIntosh.  We  do  it  constantly  with  Gala.  That’s  the  history  of  the  apple  industry.”    (Michigan  grower)  

“Even  here  —our  discipline  of  doing  it  varies.  We  get  together  for  breakfast  to  share  ideas  and  share  how  we  do  things,  and  really  work  on  being  open  with  one  another,  and  work  on  changes  in  our  philosophy.  We  are  not  in  competition.  Sure  maybe  from  the  retail  side,  we’ve  got  markets  down  the  road  from  us,  but  what  we  do  is  different.  What’s  good  for  them  is  probably  good  for  us  and  what’s  good  for  us  is  probably  good  for  them.”  (Wisconsin  grower)  

 

 

all” attitude to technologies. Some (Michel Callon in particular) have talked about this as a difference between two different types of technologies. Some technologies enable people with varying resources to do exactly the same thing, creating a type of homogeneity. Others allow for different resources to become useful in different ways, creating diversification.

Diversity in practice can be related to regional competitive dynamics. I think the trends towards more specialized forms of production in apple orchards, and how they relate to knowledge circulation, parallels what economic sociologists have described as regional clusters of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). By having different specializations, and being somewhat experimental and adaptable, producers are able to generate higher value products that can support more varied business sizes. It’s a model that contrasts with large-scale commodity production, and while much of the work has looked at these regional clusters in reference to textile production, I think it could be particularly meaningful in agricultural production where environmental challenges are increasing, new opportunities are opening up in diversifying food markets, and competition from large international producers is putting pressure on domestic markets. Club apples seem to be grounded in some of these production patterns, as the growers who I spoke to described a lot of collaboration, experimentation, and the typical forms of specialization as a focus for a more robust economic community. Yet, these were not features found solely in club apples, but related to their Midwestern operation and growth.

Supermarkets and Packing Lines One thing that struck me about modern production was the technological complexity of packing, and how packing processes influence what appears in the market, as well as production strategies. The packing lines also tied together apple aesthetics and tree technologies with the operation of the marketplace. Some packers would describe very conventional packing standards according to traditional grades, and going to somewhat predictable supermarkets, while others would describe very specific aesthetic parameters being set by retailers. The styles of packing can’t be divorced from new styles of retailing. Many retail companies have several stores aimed at different economic classes. Increasingly they are also aimed at specific types of consumers within those groups. Mariano’s in Chicago, for example, has a wine bar and tea cellar in their store, with a lot of international food. It has a very cosmopolitan spirit. Wholefoods has a slightly different, natural, family type of aesthetic. Work within retail atmospherics increasingly stresses how the same principles of store design shouldn’t be universally applied, but crafted to a particular audience. Displaying the right type of produce with the right type of aesthetic has implications for thinking about evolving food systems and where power over food quality is exercised. This is something I plan to focus more on in the future.

 

 

Outputs I have published two academic articles, so far, based on the dissertation: Club apples: a biology of markets built on the social life of variety5 This paper contributes to work on economic sociology that emphasizes how the behaviour of non-human things contributes to the rules implicitly governing markets. I talk about apples and redness, the trends around “commodity apples” and how this relates to the consolidation of supermarkets, which has long been documented within agri-food studies and economic sociology. Tiny trees for trendy produce: Dwarfing technologies as assemblage actors in orchard economies6 This paper looks at dwarfing trees and “flexible specialization,” which are the regional clusters I discussed in the technology theme above. I also use an approach called “assemblage theory,” which is concerned with how different spaces, people, and technologies are brought together in ways that shape what types of action are possible and preferable. I discuss how having an array of different rootstocks relates to a type of spatial specialization and entrepreneurial/collaborative spirit. I have a blog that I started when doing my PhD. Unfortunately it only gets updated very sporadically. http://amazingapples.blogspot.com This report is available at www.katharinelegun.com/research/apples I’m currently working on another article and a book chapter for an edited collection from the research, and plan to write a book for a more general audience in 2018 when I have some teaching relief.

Future Apple Work I have been hired as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and will be continuing to look at the apple industry here. I’ve done a few interviews with people in New Zealand and Australia. My research has shifted to look in two new areas: 1) global management and marketing strategies, and 2) aesthetics and politics in food. This latter project is particularly focused on supermarkets and the physical staging of produce as a way that retailers mediate the consumer-producer relationship. It will also include a look at the aesthetic crafting of different types of food commodities. If you have any interest in receiving any updates on the project, please let me know. I’m delighted to send out any information. I am also always grateful to hear any feedback from people involved in the research, or from anyone involved in apple production anywhere.

                                                                                                               5  Club  apples:    http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03085147.2015.1013743#.VwL3y-­‐ARhk8  6  Tiny  Trees:    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718515000731