Future Orchards® Winter Series 2026
Join us at APAL’s Future Orchards® Winter Series of orchard walks from 6–10 July 2026, which will focus on “Optimising chemical thinning – taking the guesswork out”. AgFirst Horticultural Consultants, Jack Wilson and Jonathan Brookes will lead the discussion on this topic and setting the scene for what is expected to be lively discussion and debate around winter/spring management and the opportunities that it presents for fruit quality and labour efficiency.
Graham Hope (Kiwicrunch, NZ) will be joining as our guest on the Southern loop. Graham has been working in the horticultrure industry for over 50 years starting in his own family’s operation and for the past 25 years he has been the Operations manager for up to 600 hectares of mainly apples but also pears and stonefruit. Throughout Graham’s career he has worked through a number of significant changes, both highs and lows and looks forward to sharing his passion for getting the job done on the farm with Australian growers.
Mark Wakefield (Mr Apple, NZ) will be joining us as our guest on the Northern loop. Mark is an orchard manager at Mr Apple, New Zealand and brings a wealth of experience in orchard management, staff development and training and all of the challenges associated with it.
For further information, please contact [email protected]
Register to attend in your local area by following the links below.
Queensland
Monday 6 July
With Jack Wilson from AgFirst and Mark Wakefield from Mr Apple NZ.
Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm AEST
Starting venue address: Pozieres Cold Stores – 668 Pozieres Road Pozieres, QLD 4352
Orchard Walk to follow at Nicoletti Orchards – 61 Nicoletti Ln, Pozieres QLD 4352
Lunch provided
Tasmania
Monday 6 July
With Jonathan Brookes from AgFirst and Graham Hope from Kiwicrunch, NZ.
Time: 11:00am – 2:00pm AEST
Venue address: Glendevie Orchards at 5509 Huon Hwy, Waterloo TAS 7109
Coffee and morning tea provided
Western Australia
Tuesday 7 July
With Jonathan Brookes from AgFirst and Graham Hope from Kiwicrunch, NZ.
Time: 11:00am–2:00pm AWST
Venue address: Orchard 1 Sixty – 18245 South Western Highway Donnybrook, WA 6239
The orchard walk will then take place at Redmoon Orchard Donnybrook – 18245 South West Highway, Donnybrook WA 6239
Lunch provided
Orange
Tuesday 7 July
With Jack Wilson from AgFirst and Mark Wakefield, Mr Apple NZ.
Time: 12:00pm – 3:00pm AEST
Starting venue address: Canobolas Dance Hall – Canobolas Rd, Canobolas NSW 2800
Orchard Walk to follow at BiteRiot!
Lunch provided
South Australia
Thursday 9 July
With Jonathan Brookes from AgFirst and Graham Hope from Kiwicrunch, NZ.
Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm ACST
Starting venue address: Lenswood Bowls Club – 12 Coldstore Rd, Lenswood SA 5240
Orchard Walk to follow, Venue TBD
Breakfast provided
Goulburn Valley
Thursday 9 July
With Jack Wilson from AgFirst and Mark Wakefield, Mr Apple NZ.
Time: 10:00am – 1:00pm AEST
Venue address: Prima Fresh Orchards – 460 Craven Road, Tatura VIC 3616
Lunch provided
Southern Victoria
Friday 10 July
With Jonathan Brookes and Jack Wilson from AgFirst, and Graham Hope from Kiwicrunch, NZ, and Mark Wakefield, Mr Apple NZ.
Time: 10:00am – 1:30pm AEST
Venue address: Bellevue Pakenham Upper, 90 Old Gembrook Rd, Pakenham Upper VIC 3810
Orchard walk to follow at: Priest Orchards – 130 Army Settlement Road, Pakenham
Lunch provided
For more information or to help with registering, please reach out to your local front line advisor (FLA) or contact APAL on (03) 9329 3511.
Acknowledgement
Future Orchards® Trial Incubator is delivered by APAL as part of the Future Orchards – adoption and innovation in apples and pears (AP25004) project. The project is funded by Hort Innovation, using the apple and pear research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.
