KEEPING APPLES IN THE ORCHARD: AS ONCE-THRIVING INDUSTRY STRUGGLES, GROWERS LOOK FOR WAYS TO SURVIVE

Lee Walker stands among Gravensteins that have blossomed since the days when the Model T rumbled through Apple Country.

"Every year we lose some," says Walker, as a half-dozen pickers pluck apples from an orchard at the north end of Sebastopol. The trees, each spaced about 25 feet apart in order to take in enough groundwater, include a few that are 80 or more years old, he said. His home's orchard outside Graton includes trees that his grandfather planted in 1910, 100 years ago.

Gravensteins, the first-ripening and most iconic of Sonoma County's apples, are making their way to market. The harvest has been slowed a week or more by cool weather. But at last it is under way, as are efforts by food enthusiasts, merchants and restaurateurs to promote the heirloom gravs.

The county's once-thriving apple industry continues to struggle this season. Farmers here raise gravs and other varieties the way their fathers did, while the world's fresh apples today are grown mostly in irrigated, high-density orchards, and consumers can buy gallons of cheap juice made from frozen concentrate imported from China.

To survive, some county farmers have switched from conventional to organic operations. Others, like Walker, are trying to sell more of their gravs on the fresh market, where prices last year reached a record $1,600 a ton, compared with $230 a ton for gravs that are turned into apple sauce, juice or vinegar. Farmers credit food enthusiasts, especially the group Slow Food Russian River, for tasty promotions that have boosted demand for the fresh gravs.

However, most of the county's apples aren't gravs but more than 40 late varieties, including Jonathan and Rome Beauty. Nearly all those apples are sold for processing, and last year farmers were forced to let a significant amount of their crop rot for lack of demand. As a result, the county's apple harvest totaled only $5 million, down from almost $8 million the year before.

"I actually see no future in conventional apples," said Sebastopol farmer Stan Devoto. This year, his orchards were certified organic, he said.

"Hopefully, I won't have as many apples on the ground as I did last year." Devoto said.

Consumers will buy the streaked red-and-green gravs today at the Sebastopol Farmers Market, and will feast on tasty pies and other treats Aug. 14-15 at the Gravenstein Apple Fair.

The prices likely will be higher this year, especially for organic gravs, because the late spring rains brought more "scab," a small blemish, on a portion of the crop.

"People are going to have to expect to pay a little more for high-quality fruit," said Paul Vossen, a farm adviser for the UC Cooperative Extension.

For most of the last century, the hills around Sebastopol gleamed white each spring with apple trees in blossom. Sixty years ago, the county had nearly 2,700 apple farms and 11,000 acres of orchards. But today, much of that land has been converted to vineyards, and less than 3,000 acres remain in apples. Gravenstein orchards amount to less than 900 acres.

The county has one remaining apple processor, Manzana Products, located north of Sebastopol. Today, more than 75 percent of its products are organic, said Suzanne Kaido, an owner with her cousin Dick Norton. As with last year, the market remains limited for conventional apples, she said.

Despite the struggles, some farmers vow to continue growing apples, even as they have added grapes as the mainstay of their operations.

"It's a part of our history," said Joe Dutton, who with his brother, Steve, grows grapes and organic apples at Dutton Ranch outside Graton.

For the past few years, Slow Food volunteers have worked to promote the gravs and the farmers who grow them. And their efforts are making a difference.

"They've demonstrated that they've actually been able to increase the awareness and they've demonstrated a benefit to the farmers," Vossen said.

For August, Slow Food once more has lined up scores of area restaurants to serve the subtly tart, premium baking gravs in tasty deserts and other dishes, said Paula Shatkin, who coordinates the efforts. And in coming weeks, west county merchants and public agencies -- from Sebastopol's Copperfield's Books to the town's City Hall -- will feature boxes of apples so visitors can try a free grav and learn where to buy more.

To build on the Slow Food efforts, apple farmers have held meetings recently to discuss forming their own promotional group.

Financial grants might help start such a group, similar to one that had existed in years past. But a key question is whether enough farmers will be willing to pay to keep such a group going.

Perry Kozlowski, an apple farmer and part of the family that owns Kozlowski Farms near Forestville, said he hopes his peers will see the value of such promotion in keeping their industry alive.

"They can't afford not to," Kozlowski said. "There won't be anything left."

What the grav farmers have in their favor is a growing interest in buying fresh, distinctive, locally grown products, said Steve Lutz, a former CEO of the Washington Apple Commission and now executive vice president of the consulting firm Perishables Group of West Dundee, Ill.

"That is becoming really powerful, and there's a segment of the consuming population that is focused on what's unique and what has staying power and what you typically would not buy at a ... grocery store," Lutz said.

To be successful, he said, local farmers can't rely simply on farmers markets but must sell a large amount of their gravs to supermarkets.

Walker, who has been farming apples for more than 60 years, said to do that the county's farmers would need more packing facilities, as well as the means to ensure that stores receive a reliable supply of high-quality fruit.

"You've got to have the product to back it up," he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com