About Us
Established in the heart of apple country in the mountains of Edneyville, NC, is a family farm whose roots extend back four generations. The Gilbert Family has been growing apples in Henderson County since the early 1900s. Wisdom passed from one generation to the next has brought D & D Gilbert Orchards to where it is today.
Benjamin Franklin Gilbert
In the early 1900s, Frank Gilbert started growing apples and other crops on family land. When he was killed in a fire in 1940, the land was divided between his seven children.
Robert Howard Gilbert
Frank’s son, Howard Gilbert, continued to grow apples and other crops on the land he inherited. Howard and his wife, Gladys Lyda Gilbert, worked the farm together while she also took care of their home. Their two sons, Dwight and Dale Gilbert, started helping out on the farm when they were young boys. After purchasing additional land, Howard began to grow apples exclusively in 1960. Howard passed away in 1969, leaving the farm to his two sons.
Elbert Dale Gilbert and Robert Dwight Gilbert
Dale and Dwight did not want to divide the farm so they tried working it together. Soon, they realized the farm could not financially support two families. Since his desire was to grow the apples, Dale continued to work the orchard. Dwight began to do other work selling fertilizer and other necessary chemicals to support the agriculture industry. Although Dwight was not directly involved in the day-to-day work on the farm, he supported the orchard as an advisor and was involved in the sale of the apples at harvest time. Continuing to co-own the business, they incorporated the orchard as D & D Gilbert Orchards in 1981. Over the next 27 years, Dale and Dwight kept the business going.
Bryan Dale Gilbert
Dale’s son, Bryan Gilbert, helped in the orchard while he was growing up. He wanted to work there when he graduated from high school in 1990. Knowing from experience that the farm could not support multiple families, Dale encouraged Bryan to go to college and find another career. Bryan earned a degree in Electronics and began working for a technology company. In 2008, Dale and Dwight began to consider their options related to “semi-retirement,” including renting or even selling the orchard. Dale approached Bryan to see if he still had interest in the orchard. That’s when Bryan left his job of 16 years and came on board as manager of the farm.
Today, Dwight is retired from his chemical company. Dale serves as pastor of In Jesus’ Name Church in Edneyville, while also helping Bryan with the orchard. In 2019, the two brothers were honored as the WHKP Apple Growers of the Year for the N.C. Apple Festival. Bryan now runs the business and oversees the daily operations of the orchard. With four generations of experience behind him, he faces the current challenges in agriculture with old-fashioned know-how and modern technology. His goal for the orchard is to produce high quality apples for D & D Gilbert’s customers.
Mission Statement
Here at D & D Gilbert Orchards, we are:
Rooted In Faith
In every aspect of our lives, we seek to put God first. We want to honor and glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with our words, actions and business practices. We desire the leadership of the Holy Spirit in all that we do.
Matthew 22:37-38 “Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.’”
Rooted In Service
We seek to put others first and to treat others the way we want to be treated. As Jesus chose to be a servant, we want to follow His example of service to those around us.
Galatians 5:13 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty: only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
Rooted In Honesty
We strive to be honest in our dealings with our customers. We seek to provide a high-quality product at a reasonable price.
2 Corinthians 8:21 “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.”
Rooted In Hard Work
We seek to have a strong work ethic. We believe that hard work yields the best crop and the most success. We strive to be diligent in doing our part, then we leave the results up to the Lord.
Galatians 6:4-5 “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden.”
Rooted In Responsibility
We believe that the land, trees, and the fruit of our orchard belongs to the Lord and that He can do with it as He sees fit. We seek to be good stewards of everything God has given us. We strive to use good practices on our farm that are beneficial and not harmful, to people and to the land.
Genesis 1:29 and 2:15 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat…And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
Rooted In Dependability
We strive to be true to our word, to mean what we say and say what we mean. We steer clear of empty promises and desire to be a business with great integrity.
Matthew 5:36-37 “Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
Rooted In Community
We seek to be an active supporter of our community, especially our local apple community, and of agriculture as a whole, by partnering with specific organizations including the North Carolina Apple Growers Association and US Apple.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”
