Picking your own apples is booming: real farm fun or just a photo op?
Is pick-your-own apple farming a genuine economic lifeline for struggling farms, or has it become a social media theatre that sells experiences instead of fruit?
A radio-style debate on a real news story, written for A1 learners of English (beginner): short, slow sentences about everyday things, with the most common words.
Hear the whole debate in the app Free every day: today's episode at your level, with a synced transcript and the key vocabulary.
Get it on Google Play iPhone: join the waitlistKey vocabulary
| English | Meaning and example from the episode |
|---|---|
| farm | land where crops or animals are raised“But look at Derthick's farm.” |
| apple | round fruit that grows on trees“Is that ticket money, or apple money?” |
| agritourism | business of visitors paying to visit farms“Almost all money at Derthick's comes from agritourism.” |
| crop | plants grown for food or sale“Not from the crop.” |
| income | money earned from work or business“The farm loses income.” |
| fruit | edible product of a plant or tree“The fruit is actual fruit.” |
| farming | work of growing crops or raising animals“Is it farming?” |
| visitor | person who comes to see a place“That money is not visitor money.” |
| weather | atmospheric conditions like rain or cold“Same weather kills crop and visitors.” |
| actual | real, existing in fact“The fruit is actual fruit.” |
Who's talking
- Host
- Robert Hutchins
Third-generation fruit farm operator in - Dr. Catherine Wells
Agricultural economist at a Midwest - Marcus Liu
Food and agriculture journalist
The panelists are fictional characters, and their voices are generated with AI.
What they debate
- Patterson and Derthick: when 80% of revenue comes from visitors, not crops—is it still farming?
- Butler's Maryland freeze and Ontario's 30% crop loss: can agritourism survive without actual apples?
- Claudia Schmidt and rising input costs: does the experience income actually reach the farm's bottom line?
- Chiles Peach Orchard's $10 pass and online slots: who gets priced out of the old spontaneous family outing?
Transcript (beginning)
Hello and welcome. People pick apples now. Farms make money. But is this real work or just photos? Robert grows apples. Catherine studies farms. Marcus writes about farms. Let's talk.
Robert, you pick apples and sell visits. Is it farming?
Yes. It is farming. Visitors pay me. But I grow the apples. The fruit is actual fruit. Not a photo.
Marcus, you write about farms. Robert says it is farming. What do you see?
Wait. The fruit is real, yes. But look at Derthick's farm. Almost all the money comes from visitors. Not from the crop.
No. Visitors pay for the crop, not photos.
Catherine, you study farms. Derthick and Patterson: how much money comes from visitors?
Numbers first. At Patterson, visitors give small money. Most money comes from selling fruit to shops. But Derthick's is different. Almost all money comes from visitors.
Hang on. That money is not visitor money. It is crop money. No apples, no visitors. Derthick's still farms. The maze grows in a field.
No, no, wait. A corn maze is not a crop. You cut it and sell tickets. Derthick's grows a maze, not food.
Catherine. Derthick's: how much is apples? How much is maze?
I can't give you that number. We know the money. Almost all money at Derthick's comes from agritourism. Not from the crop.
Continue listening: 30 more turns The full episode, with the transcript synced to the audio, is in the RoundTalk app.
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