1.
apple farmer; apple-growing household
A farmer or farming family whose main crop is apples. Like other 〜農家 ('X-growing farmer') terms, the word can refer to either the farmer as an individual or to the household / business as a whole. Often used in news about agriculture, weather damage, harvest seasons, and rural tourism, especially in apple-producing regions like Aomori, Nagano, and Iwate.
Compound of りんご ('apple') and 農家 ('farmer; farming household'). Like other crop + 農家 compounds (e.g., 米農家 'rice farmer', みかん農家 'mandarin orange farmer'), the term covers both the individual farmer and the family business of growing apples.
Usage
- The pattern X農家 can mean (a) a person who grows X for a living, or (b) the farming household/business that does so. Context decides between the two readings.
- Contrast with りんご園 ('apple orchard'), which refers to the place, not the people.
- Common in seasonal news: harvest reports in October-November, frost or hail damage in spring, typhoon damage to fruit, and articles about pick-your-own tourism.
Common collocations
- りんご農家を営む: to run an apple-farming business
- りんご農家の息子: the son of an apple-farming family
- 老舗のりんご農家: a long-established apple-farming household
- りんご農家が被害を受ける: apple farmers suffer damage (e.g., from weather)
- りんご農家の後継者: successor to an apple-farming household
Similar words
- 農家: farmer; farming household — generic term, without specifying the crop.
- りんご園: apple orchard — refers to the place, not the people.
- 果樹農家: fruit farmer — broader category that includes apple, pear, grape, etc.
- 米農家: rice farmer — same suffix pattern with a different crop.
- 生産者: producer — covers any agricultural producer, often used on packaging and in food labelling.