Business Development Group Update – August 2015
August 2015 | Prepared by Ross Wilson, AgFirst | Future Orchards® Business Development Group newsletter
Ross Wilson of AgFirst encourages growers to use the winter period to enter historical data into OrchardNet, review block performance and set production goals for the following crop. The update stresses that planning should be based on evidence rather than simply repeating the previous season’s management.
The growing OrchardNet database allowed growers to benchmark blocks by variety, year and tree age. The newsletter highlights Pink Lady performance, with monitored production rising substantially over time and upper-quartile mature blocks achieving much higher yields than the average. Growers below benchmark were encouraged to identify the cause and develop a continual-improvement strategy.
The core message is that OrchardNet should be used to plan forward as well as look back. Historical yield, packout and fruit-size information becomes more valuable when it is translated into a clear production target and the inputs required to achieve it.
