Orchard Block Decision Tool

Farm Setup

Enter your farm's shared fixed costs and define each orchard block. Changes update all tabs automatically.

Farm-wide fixed costs ($/year total) Allocated to blocks by acreage

These costs continue regardless of how many blocks you farm and are allocated equally per acre. When a block is removed they get spread across fewer acres, raising costs for every remaining block.

Cost of capital

Value of long-term assets Equipment + orchard infrastructure (not land). Use current market value rather than book value.

Rate (%) — opportunity cost or interest rate Use your actual interest rate if you carry debt, or 5% as an opportunity cost benchmark if debt-free.

Opportunity cost / interest expense (calculated) = Asset value × rate.

Other farm-wide fixed costs

Irrigation (total farm)

Housing

Machinery replacement costs (annualized) Annual cost of replacing/overhauling equipment — not tax depreciation

Management & administration

Farm insurance

Other shared fixed costs

Total farm fixed costs: — Fixed cost/acre: — of which opp. cost of capital: —/acre

Orchard blocks

Farm summary

Cherry Sensitivity Analysis

How does this block's profitability change across different yield and price combinations? The heatmap shows net return ($/acre) after all costs including shared fixed overhead. Green = profitable, red = loss.

Yield range to explore

± around current±40%

Price range to explore

± around current±40%

Net return ($/acre) at each yield × price combination

Pear Sensitivity Analysis

Pear yields expressed in bins/acre, prices in $/bin. The heatmap shows net return ($/acre) after all costs including shared fixed overhead.

Yield range to explore

± around current±40%

Price range to explore

± around current±40%

Net return ($/acre) at each yield × price combination

Apple Sensitivity Analysis

Apple yields expressed in bins/acre, prices in $/bin. The heatmap shows net return ($/acre) after all costs including shared fixed overhead. Green = profitable, red = loss.

Yield range to explore

± around current±40%

Price range to explore

± around current±40%

Net return ($/acre) at each yield × price combination

Remove a Block

See the full impact of removing a block — variable costs that stop, fixed costs that get reallocated to remaining blocks, and the net change to whole-farm profitability.

Key concept: When you remove a block, its variable costs stop. But the farm's fixed costs (equipment, management, insurance) don't disappear — they get spread over fewer acres, raising per-acre overhead for every remaining block. Sometimes keeping a marginal block is better than removing it.