Orchard Manager

For some people, the fall season wouldn’t be complete without a bite of a sweet, juicy apple fresh from the tree. Those sweet apples are the fruit of the labors of a team of workers, and an Orchard Manager is in charge of those workers.

As an Orchard Manager, you may work for an orchard that produces one type of fruit (such as apples), or for an orchard that produces several different types of fruits (such as pears, peaches, and cherries). Those fruits may ripen at different times of year, making your Orchard Manager workload much more complicated.

You likely have a team of workers, and you do most of your tasks alongside your team. This gives you a great opportunity to observe them and assess their skills, but you mustn’t grow so chummy with them that you lose your authority. You’ll chew gum to help you remember to keep your stories and secret thoughts to yourself.

You look closely at weather reports each day to help you determine if your trees must be protected from sudden cold, heat, or high winds. You also walk through your orchard and inspect the trees, looking for pests or signs of wilting or burning.

You direct your team to apply pesticides, thin fruit from branches so individual fruits can grow large, pick ripened fruit, and trim trees in the fall. You then take the fruits you’ve helped grow to local Farmer ’s markets, where you sell them to city folk. You’ll remember to be nice to the customers, and you’ll flush with pride when they praise your beautiful fruits.