Industry Rising Star: Diversity always a safe bet

This rising star’s success proves that the future of the industry is in branching out. Photo: Judith Russo, Creative Events Photography

Damien Silm is a practical man. As the orchard operations manager at his family’s Cedar Creek Orchard outside Picton, NSW, he knows that margins are slim, and every bit of extra revenue counts.  

What makes Damien a standout in his industry is his enthusiasm for diversification. When opportunity knocks, this fourth-generation grower is quick to answer the door.  

“My mum hates it, but I hate to say no to opportunity,” he laughed, “So when someone comes to me with an opportunity, I’ll definitely weigh it up and think about whether we can take it on. I think that’s part of how we’ve got to where we’re at.” 

Where they’ve got to is a thriving, multi-branched farm business renowned for its quality produce, community connections and resourceful approach to the sometimes fickle business of fruit farming.  

This lateral thinking has seen the successful expansion of the farm’s operations into agritourism. The Cedar Creek Orchard pick-your-own days are a roaring success, welcoming thousands of visitors every season – though it did take a bit of nudging to get the project off the ground.  

As Damien tells it, locals had been asking to come and pick for years, but his father and grandfather had their hesitations. But those would-be pickers … 

“They kept coming back week after week,” Damien said, “and eventually Dad said ‘Well, maybe we give it a go.’ [The pickers] had such a good time, they brought another bunch of friends and they said, we want to do it again.”  

It’s a tidy bit of revenue security for the farm, but it’s also a better deal and a better experience for the people who come and pick their own.  

“It’s a great thing for us and for the customer. We’re able to set the price based on the market and not have a lot of losses in terms of middlemen that we’re having to pay for the last couple of steps [to retail].  

“For a customer, they get to have a great time at the farm. You hear everyone enjoying their time in the paddock. You get to see the smiling faces with what they’ve picked. But also they get to choose exactly the fruit that they want from the field and not just what’s presented to them on the supermarket shelf.” 

Another successful diversification is the juice business. This is an enterprise that Damien now manages, his grandfather having started it as a way to make the best of a hail-damaged crop more than 40 years ago. Under Damien’s management, the top-quality juice brand has blossomed, going from producing 50,000 litres to 700,000 litres per year.  

Like the pick-your-own days, Damien said, “The juice has just slowly grown. It’s a good product and that’s what we pride ourselves on. We haven’t done a lot of marketing and promotion, but I think when the product speaks for itself, you slowly see that growth coming in.”  

It’s also another part of Damien’s strategy for long-term resilience.  

“When we have a poor season because of whatever factor – pests and disease, or drought – the juice sales tide us over until the next season. And then the next season is hopefully a better one.” 

The farm itself is around 45ha of apples, persimmons, peaches and nectarines, with a recent foray into cherries still in its trial stage. In future, Damien’s got big plans to continue his work with agronomists on improving efficiency. Part of this will be a project to revitalise some old blocks and plant out more of the varieties that visitors love to pick. 

Beyond that, the sky’s the limit. The agritourism business continues to boom, and shows no sign of slowing, with more and more visitors showing up from Sydney and beyond.  

“We know we’re doing something right when they come back year after year,” Damien said. “People do make it a point to let us know, ‘Hey, this is my 10th visit. I’ve been coming every year.’” 

This article was first published in the Winter 2026 edition of AFG.