Manley Brackett, 85, said he just wants to keep his orchard around to pass on to the next generation.

He grew up on his family apple farm, Brackett Orchards on Route 11 in Limington, when small apple orchards were profitable. The industry has fallen on tough times since then, with small orchards falling away like heavy fruit on a weak branch.

“There were probably six orchards in town, and now I’m the only one left,” said Brackett.

He said Brackett Orchards was built by two brothers in 1783, fresh from the Revolutionary War.

“I assume they planted apple trees as soon as they had the land cleared to grow some hard cider,” he said, Brackett said they needed a cold, strong beverage to build the stone walls all around the Brackett Orchards.

While constructing modern roads have caused a lot of the stone walls to be torn down, the orchards are still with us. Brackett said he hopes that can continue after his time is over.

Small apple orchards were once a booming business in southern Maine, according to Brackett, with new ones popping up all the time.

That was the situation as recently as 40 years ago, said Brackett.

“To me, the ratio was a lot better, profit wise, back then,” he said. Since then, he said the costs associated with running an orchard – including property taxes, labor, farm machinery, insurance – has quintupled, but the price of apples and sales volume haven’t.

“That’s why the orchards are disappearing all over the state now,” he said.

“I don’t know anything else,” said Brackett, a veteran of eight decades of apple growing. He said he still has to pay bills and taxes, and doesn’t want to sell his land for housing lots.

“Once this farmland disappears, it’s gone forever,” he said.

Other apple growers share Brackett’s love and admiration for their land.

“Some people want to see how much they can make,” said Dick Randall, 68, of Randall Orchards. “I want to see what I can leave behind.” They both said they’d rather raise apples than dollars.

For the future, Brackett said he is hopeful. He is selling more of his apples to locals instead of trucking them to supermarkets in Florida. He said the pick-your-own apple may be the salvation of the industry.

“It’s scenic, and people seem to enjoy it,” he said.