Support for
Growth

Creating a better future for Australian apple and pear growers,
through industry leadership and commercial advancement.

Launched in 2006, Future Orchards provides growers with practical and hands-on education to improve the fruit quality and productivity of their orchards and increase their competitiveness.

Funded and delivered by APAL, services delivered under Future Orchards include:

Designed to increase production, lower orchard production costs, increase the percentage of premium fruit harvested, Future Orchards is well on track to bring Australian orchardists up to best-in-class standards.

The initial milestones for the Future Orchards project were to:

The project is well on track to achieving these goals.

In addition, Future Orchards monitors designated ‘Focus Orchard’ blocks with different tree densities and growing-issues in each region. Orchard Walks are held regularly to give growers first-hand comparisons of the costs and benefits of adopting different production systems and approaches.

Access the most recent Future Orchards information at Latest Materials, or revisit older resources in the complete Future Orchards Library.

FUTURE ORCHARDS LIBRARY

OrchardNet®

Available via AgFirst for Australian apple and pear levy payers, OrchardNet® is an online database that provides live business updates from the orchard to track performance, provide benchmarks and forecast performance.

To view the Focus Orchard data in OrchardNet, use the following login details (note both are lower case):

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Orchard Business Analysis

As part of the Future Orchards® program, the Orchard Business Analysis (OBA) collects physical and financial data from 24 orchards located in the eight growing regions in Australia. Data collected gives a snapshot of the current industry, provides a financial overview, is an opportunity to benchmark performance and reviews industry trends on production.

AgFirst have conducted the OBA since 2008. The analysis produces a set of data for orchard owners and industry to use, identifying strengths and weaknesses leading to continual improvement for the industry.

Copies of the Orchard Business Analysis reports are available to APAL members and Australian apple and pear growers on request.

To request a copy of the OBA. – EMAIL [email protected]

AgFirst

AgFirst are a New Zealand based consultancy specialising in primary industry work. AgFirst empower growers to achieve best practice in the horticulture industry.

Providing technical knowledge in all horticulture crops with specialist knowledge in kiwifruit, pipfruit, stonefruit, grapes and olives, the AgFirst team is experienced in project extension, consultancy and industry development.  AgFirst experts regularly travel overseas to view, test and share systems and methods from around the world.

Meet the AgFirst team

Orchard Walks

Orchard Walks

Led by an AgFirst consultant and APAL Technical Manager,  Orchard Walks are hosted twice-annually in each growing region. Visit our Events page to learn when the next Orchard Walk is occurring in your region.

Orchard Walks

Acknowledgement

Future Orchards® is funded by APAL


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