RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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One of the last remaining fruit orchards in Santa Clara County may soon be uprooted to make way for housing, a sign of changing times for the region’s agricultural landscape.
If Santa Clara County officials sign off on the plan, Andy’s Orchard in Morgan Hill will be sold and replaced with hundreds of homes, two parks and pickleball courts.
Andy Mariani, 80, told NBC Bay Area’s Marianne Favro about his family’s decision to sell amid an uncertain future. His family purchased the orchard in 1957. Now, nearly 70 years later, the property holds about 7,000 trees, including his main crop of cherries.
Mariani noted that when his family first moved to the area, they were surrounded by 30 other farms. But times have changed.
“They’re gone. We’re the last ones,” Mariani said.
Today, his more than 50-acre orchard is surrounded by million-dollar homes. Mariani said that urbanization has impacted his crops, though environmental shifts have dealt the heaviest blow.
“The biggest problem is climate change,” Mariani said. “It warms the winter temperatures and cherries require a certain amount of winter cold, so this year we only got 5% of our crop and in fact, in the last 10 years, we have not made any money on cherries.”
Mariani considers himself a “dirt farmer,” as he derives all of his income directly from the farm’s production. Even though his flavorful peaches, plums, and figs remain popular—with some even being sold to high-end New York restaurants—the once-profitable business is no longer sustainable.
“You can’t continue to survive when you’re not producing fruit,” Mariani said.
Greta and Bernd Liebelt of Morgan Hill have been visiting Andy’s store every week for more than 20 years. They said they are saddened to learn their trips now have an expiration date.
“What’s unique about here is you don’t find fruit anywhere else that’s as good as Andy’s fruit,” Greta Liebelt said. “He’s ruined me for all grocery store fruits.”
Bernd Liebelt said he is concerned that what is happening to the orchard is part of a growing trend across the state.
“You’re seeing all kinds of building, and as a result, a lot of agriculture is going away and being replaced by housing,” he said.
Mana Investments, a California real estate investment firm, now holds an option to buy the Mariani ranch. The firm plans to use the land to build 376 homes.
Mariani said his country store will likely remain open until September of next year. He held out as long as he could.
“It’s an end of an era,” Mariani said. “I feel bad, but if you can’t make it, it’s hard to justify being here.”
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