Saunders Brothers Orchard

Saunders Brothers Orchard is a fourth-generation family farm in Piney River, VA. The farm began in 1915 as a cattle farm when 5 brothers decided to pool their resources and form a partnership. With the coming of the Great Depression, money became tight and the brothers discovered that peaches were selling for good prices. Although most were forced to take jobs elsewhere, three brothers maintained the family farm through farm helpers and sharecroppers, pitching in themselves during harvest time.

Today, the farm is in the capable hands of Marshall and Jim Saunders along with several others that have joined the team over the years and are part of the Saunders Brothers Family. Going on 110 years in business, they are registered Centennial Farm in the state of Virginia!

Today, Saunders Brothers Inc. grows multiple varieties of peaches, apples, nectarines and Asian pears. Jim Saunders explained that the #1 priority at Saunders Brothers is growing the best tasting fruit possible and passing on that experience to their customers. Though newer varieties are available and have become popular for their ease of growing, they choose not to switch because they know that in doing so they will lose out on the flavor their customers have come to expect from their fruit.

The clay soil along the hillsides of the Shenandoah make for great flavor and they have specifically tested and chosen fruit varieties that produce the best tasting fruit in their soil. Jim explained that they have a test garden where his brother Bennett plants every possible variety of fruit that they might grow before scaling up. Only those varieties that do well and produce the best fruit are allowed a place on their hillside orchard. They specialize in Pink Lady and Gold Rush apples, plus their own variety, Piney River Gold.