A Lending Library Lends a Hand to Cortez Growers

Montezuma County’s heritage apple orchards produce millions of pounds of fruit annually, but hundreds of trees were still going unharvested each year because growers did not have the proper supplies to harvest and transport their produce for local sales. These orchards are not large-scale operations; they typically belong to backyard farmers and ranchers who don’t have the financial resources to buy equipment for their small orchards. Staff at the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project wanted to help fill this gap and strengthen the local economy. Their idea? Create a harvest lending library for backyard growers and launch a system for selling the apples locally. Doing so not only prevents the apples from going to waste (and attracting bears—a growing concern in the county), but also provides farmers with an added revenue stream. LOR’s support helped Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project procure the equipment to establish the harvest lending library. Learn more about the project in the short video below.