Here is the conclusion to the Fighting fire (blight) with...organic fire? story:
The National Organic Standards Board removed antibiotics from use in organic orchards effective October 2014 and streptomycin was no longer a treatment option for fire blight. Deirdre continues to expand her orchard, market organic hard cider and brandy, and search for workable alternatives to antibiotic fire blight control.
As of 2015, Deirdre maintained 12 acres of trees, and was planting at increasingly high density, including tree trellising. She continues her on-farm research to determine the efficacy of new products and treatment regimes.
She is invested in strong connections to key supply chain partners and mentors. Dan Bussey went on to run the orchard at Seed Savers Exchange and continued to be a source of information and scion wood for cider varieties. Deirdre confers often with Jim Koan of Michigan on organic apple production as well as with Professor Gregory Peck, who returned to Cornell University. Professor Emeritus Ian Merwin went into the orchard and cider business himself and continued to mentor Deirdre.
She developed a relationship with a local distiller to distill her organic apple juice into brandy. The brandy is sold directly to consumers by the distillery and sells out quickly upon its annual fall release. She partnered in 2014 with a winery and restaurant group in Chicago for a beta-test of cider making for the Chicago market. The cider was well-received by the Chicago market. As orchard production expands, Deirdre and John will serve markets in southern Wisconsin and Chicago with both 750-ml bottled as well as kegged ciders.
Deirdre continues to engage in research in her orchard and through connections with other orchardists and researchers around the country. She is active in NOSB discussions that affect her future certification and has a reputation with other farmers for being in the know.
Acknowledgments
This project was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Organic Transitions Program under award number 2013-51106-21005.
This project was also supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, National Organic Program under the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) in the Midwest region.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.