Maximising Profitability by Meeting Market Demands

July 2024 | Presented by Jonathan Brookes and Jack Wilson, AgFirst | Future Orchards® presentation

Jonathan Brookes and Jack Wilson of AgFirst frame orchard profitability around an “improve or remove” approach: understand whether each block can produce a sustainable profit, identify the limiting factor and either improve performance or reconsider the block’s future.

The presentation describes the key levers of financial success as production, packout, price and people, while stressing that cost control must not come at the expense of those drivers. Example performance targets include 60 tonnes per hectare, 80% packout and 80% of fruit in the target size range, supported by block-specific information on vigour, variability, colour, maturity and biennial-bearing risk.

AgFirst also compares orchard costs and Orchard Business Analysis benchmarks, including pruning, thinning, harvest, management and post-harvest expenditure. The underlying message is that growers need block-level data to distinguish good blocks of good varieties from underperforming blocks or varieties, then direct effort where it can generate the greatest return.