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Our family has owned Lorraine Farm since the early 1960's although our connection to the district go back to the beginning of the 19th century.

Our farm is located in the Elgin Valley to the east of Cape Town.  This region is one of the more intensively farmed districts of South Africa and produces 60% of the national apple crop.

The farm is 50 hectares in extent of which 30 ha are used for fruit cultivation comprising of apples 85%, pears 8% and cling peaches 7%. The rest is taken up with buildings, fallow ground and a 565 million litre dam.  Furthermore there are a number of areas of indigenous trees and shrubs to help encourage bio-diversity and breeding habitats for birds and beneficial insects

We have a staff of 15 people and are proud of the fact that the employee/employer relationship is excellent. As a result, turnover of staff is very low. Recently two of our employees retired after a combined service of 56 years!

The farm is small enough to pay attention to detail, over and above standards simply adhering to the required international criteria for organic orchard production. For instance, we have incorporated the following on our farm:

- A large flock of ducks to control the snail population
- Bat houses for the Egyptian free tail and Cape serotine bat in an attempt to attract more of these insectivores.
- Small ponds in perennial streams to act as silt traps preventing erosion and creating breeding habitats for frogs and toads.
- Areas of indigenous trees and shrubs to encourage bio-diversity and breeding of birds and beneficial insects
- Opportunities for individual discussion and simple observation of nature with the staff.