FIFER ORCHARDS

Fifer’s is located in Camden Wyoming, Delaware. Fifer Orchards mission is to grow and sell high-quality products while preserving the environment, serving the community and maintaining family values. Fifer Orchards is a 4th generation family farm, continuing the vision and legacy of Charles Federick Fifer. The family farm looks for innovative ways to remain viable and successful as a family business in very challenging and constantly changing agricultural industry. The 4th generation Fifer’s continue to grow a very diverse mix of high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables including asparagus, strawberries, tomatoes, blueberries, apples, peaches, nectarines, plums, heirloom varieties, apples, pumpkins and more.

At Fifer Orchards they farm 3,000 acres of land, with most of the land they are able to double crop. Of the 3,000 acres, 1,100 acres are used solely for sweet corn production. They also grow crops in small trials in efforts to diversify their operation by testing them in fields of 10-20 acres. Trials are important because if they succeed it could lead to a form of income all year round if they can find ways to successfully grow. Their best money making crops are sweetcorn, pumpkins, peaches, and asparagus. Fifer Orchards operates its own stores and ships crops all over the east coast. You can even find their products at Giant Foods.

Their production is possible because of irrigation such as sprinkle lines, drip irrigation, hard hoses, and pivots. They also use technology such as GPS and trackers to be more efficient. The use of high tunnels also allows for higher quality products all year round. Four acres of high tunnels is able to produce what 20 acres of open land could produce, that is because of the dryness in the tunnels which results in less susceptibility to disease.

Delaware agriculture is more than just grain and polutry production.