John Hart Efurd (left) started Efurd Orchards in 1972. Today the growing business is operated with the help of his daughter-in-law Amy, wife Sandra, and son Greg.
--Staff photo by Arnold
Fruits of the Family: Orchard an area landmark
By KARI ARNOLD, Country World Staff Writer
July 3, 2008 - Amy Efurd spends every day visiting with friends and family, tasting peaches and eating ice cream. It’s her job.
Amy, 40, helps operate Efurd Orchard just south of Pittsburg in Camp County. Efurd married into her new career after meeting Greg Efurd, now 46.
The newlyweds (in 1990) joined the business that Greg’s father, John Hart Efurd, officially started in 1972. (Prior to that, the crop was sold from the bed of a truck).
Efurd Orchards near Pittsburg relies on 15,000 trees to produce enough peaches for their business. The family sells fresh peaches to their customers, as well as peach treats like homemade peach ice cream that’s made from peaches right out of the orchard.-
-Staff photo by Arnold
“Back then, they’d had a dairy and had chicken houses,” explained Amy. “Other people in the area were farming, so (John) said ‘I’m gonna try it.’”
After planting peach trees on family land, John Hart built an open-sided shed to house his business. Today, that open shed has grown into a full-service tourism and treat stop on Highway 271.
“This started out as just a dirt floor,” recalls Amy. “But every year, it’s grown.”
Today, the large shed has a raised wood floor, antique decor and shelves to showcase a variety of products across the region. Amy said the family works with local growers to provide an extensive collection of crops and products, ranging from peas to locally-produced honey.
“We do try to help the local growers,” she said. “There are not many of them left.”
Amy Efurd prepares a cup of peach ice cream for a customer.
--Staff photo by Arnold
Still, the Efurds are able to handle the brunt of the crop production themselves. The family grows plums, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, potatoes, onions, and experiments with other crops from time to time. Their livelihood, however, is grown in peaches.
On the orchard, 150 acres (spread throughout the immediate area) are cultivated for peach production. It’s enough acreage to support 15,000 peach trees. Greg and John Hart take care of the trees’ needs, according to Amy.
“They start pruning around November and they’ll be done sometime after Christmas in January,” she explained. “Then you have to keep everything mowed. They’ll start thinning the peaches around February and spray the trees in March.”
The orchard usually opens in March for business (when strawberries begin to ripen). The hustle and bustle of running the business and caring for the orchard can be time consuming.
“We’ll already be open and still trying to care for the peaches,” noted Amy.
Once open, Amy said the family has to ensure they will have a constant supply of peaches throughout the season. To reduce the risk of a short supply, Greg has carefully chosen a variety of peaches to produce.
“He’s got to time every one to come off so we’ll always have something,” said Amy.
In total, 14 varieties are produced in the orchard. Amy said each variety offers something unique: some are grown for their taste and others for their shipping quality.
Many popular varieties such as the Red Stone, Loring, Florida Prince and certain white peaches, will be plentiful and ripe throughout the month of July. The Efurds produce enough varieties to have peaches available through August.
When ripe, peaches are sorted and sold at the family’s store. It takes 25 employees (most of them family and close friends, as well as a few high school students) to keep the operation running smoothly.
Amy said the family enjoys working together.
“There are ups and downs,” she added. “But, all in all, for us to be able to get along and work together every day is good.”
In addition to family, the Efurds enjoy interacting with their customers.
“Just being able to meet people and see people is nice,” explained Amy. “We try to be courteous and talk to everybody. We want everyone to be glad they came.”
The family makes every effort possible, she added, to go the extra mile for their customers. Whether it’s sending peaches to hospital rooms with relatives, carrying boxes to customers’ cars, offering curbside service to handicapped visitors, or just peeling a peach for each visitor to the open-air market, Amy said they “just try to make that extra effort.”
The family formula utilized by the Efurds has built a successful business. While other farms in the area have disappeared, Efurd Orchards has seen continued growth each year.
Customers flock from hours away for a piece of what the Efurds are growing. And, said Amy, visitors take home more than a box OF peaches, a homemade peach ice cream cone, or a pint of blackberries, “they take back a piece of the country when they come here.”
Efurd Orchards is open from March through late fall. More information is available by visiting www.EfurdOrchards.com or calling (903)856-2253.
