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Tetley Brook Estate was formed in 2005 when the first 118 hectare block was converted from sheep and beef farming into viticulture. After developing additional vineyard area on the home block a neighbouring vineyard was also purchased; the Tetley Brook Estate vineyard area now consists of 166 hectares.
Tetley Brook Estate employs five staff including Shavin Chandra, the vineyard manager, and grows grapes under contract to Indevin, Matua and Accolade Wines.
We spoke with John and Maria Ryan. John tells us there’s sixteen frost fans covering the two blocks. John said their first lesson in frost protection was when one block got ‘tickled up’ a few years ago and frosted once before they installed the fans. That was the 2011-12 season when two thirds of one block was frosted and they lost around 60 tonnes all up. That prompted them to put in four FrostBoss™ C49 fans. Since then, John and Shavin have seen an increase in yield of more than 20% in the areas protected by the frost fans.
Tetley Brook Estate has had more than its fair share of challenges with the 2013 Seddon earthquake and the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Fortunately, the vineyards were undamaged and whilst it’s had an impact on the lives and daily routines of the Ryan family and their staff, they’ve not let it stop them.
In 2016, two more FrostBoss™ machines were purchased, one for a new development and the other for the leading edge of their Pinot Gris block.
They have three different brands of frost fan across their two vineyards but John and Shavin favour the FrostBoss™ machines. “They’ve been outstanding with the area they cover, ease of access to the motor and large 500 litre capacity fuel tanks. We also had New Zealand Frost Fans upgrade the old alloy blades on our Amarillo machines with the FrostBoss™ C39 composite blades (3 blade system) and these have proven to be quieter and more efficient.”
John values the relationships Tetley Brook Estate are involved with in the viticulture industry like New Zealand Frost Fans – “we also use JTC Viticulture in Blenheim for contract harvesting and fertiliser spreading” – and takes pride in the positive relationships highlighting Tetley Brook Estate grapes are supplied to Indevin, Matua and Accolade Wines.
“We’ve been hitting our tonnage caps and this season is looking like we’ll get good yields. We’ll be harvesting in April so we’ll let you know.”
Blueberry Country is New Zealand’s largest blueberry grower with orchards at Ohaupo and Ngatea in the Waikato and Otautau in Southland.
Co-owned by Greg and Alison Furniss together with other family members, Blueberry Country employs 80 – 90 staff in the pack houses and up to 300 in the orchards during the seasonal pick.
The Ohaupo property was purchased in 1990 from the receivers of Blueberry Hill, The Ngatea property was purchased the following year. The Otautau property was purchased in 2002.
During this period BBC Technologies was established as a sister company, it has since become a global leader in turnkey solutions for sorting, and packing small fruit such as blueberries.
The Otautau block is 200 hectares with about one third planted in blueberries. The current plan is to have the whole block planted in the next 5 years.
“A big risk for us is the weather wiping out a crop at a critical time”, says Greg. “The three enemies of blueberries are frost, wind and the roots being too wet.”
For frost protection, Blueberry Country has six FrostBoss™ C49 machines positioned in different sections of the orchard at Otautau. The fans start automatically when the ground temperature drops to 0.5°c. The fans push the warmer air down and are set to run until the ground temperature rises to 2.5°c.
The bushes start flowering in late October and November. During these two months it is important to have wind and frost protection in place.
Simon Bardon, General Manager at Otautau, is alerted to the fans working by a text alarm, triggered by the fans’ remote monitoring system. In addition, the remote monitoring option provides historical data and graphs on temperature, run-hours and machine performance.
Blueberry Country sells about half of its fruit fresh with the balance going to the frozen market. About 10% is sold into pick your own (PYO) berries at all three orchards for very reasonable rates during the summer season which generally runs from early December to late February. They also have a café open during the summer picking season.
More details are available at www.blueberry.co.nz
Wairau River Wines own 330 hectares of vineyards across ten blocks around Rapaura in Marlborough, New Zealand.
Established by Phil and Chris Rose in 1978, Wairau River Wines is one of Marlborough’s largest family owned wine growing operations.
We spoke with Hamish, Phil and Chris’s son, who was brought up amongst the vines and now oversees the Vineyards.
Hamish tells us his brother, Sam, is the Winemaker and his three sisters and 2 brothers-in-law are also integral to the business, which also has its own bottling plant and an acclaimed Winery Restaurant and Cellar Door.
Primarily growing Sauvignon Blanc, Wairau River Wines grow a variety of grapes and export 80 percent of their wines.
The winery now handles 5500 tonnes of grapes each season. With the intention to not only maintain the land but improve it for the next generation, Wairau River choose sustainable methods such as returning the marc (grape skins) back to the vineyards by spreading them under the rows as compost.
Hamish tells us they have been hit by frosts prior to having frost fans. One year they only got 180 tonnes off a block that usually delivers 2000 tonnes of grapes.
“The two frost fan machines on our colder Wairau block save the crop every year”, says Hamish.
Before installing fans, they used helicopters but they were expensive. Fans take the risk out of it by covering all the sensitive areas. They plan to cover more areas susceptible to being ‘tickled up’ by frost with fans over the next few years. “In those areas you see shoot damage and might lose 5% of the crop. There’s may be a slight hollow where you’ll see a few plants where the shoots are fried”, says Hamish.
Wairau River Wines strive to make the best wines they can; their Pinot Gris was a trophy winner in the 2016 Air New Zealand Wine Awards. At the same time, “security of supply is also important and something we have to manage when the difference in volume between a good and bad vintage may be 20% to 30%. All it takes is a poor couple of weeks over flowering for the Sauvignon Blanc.”
As well as using frost fans, Hamish explains they manage the risk and uncertainty of weather patterns by having a number of sites with their furthest vineyard at Dillons Point on the other side of Blenheim.
Hamish uses locally manufactured FrostBoss™ fans from New Zealand Frost Fans because of their advanced technology and quiet running which is within the noise regulation requirements of Marlborough District Council. Impressed by the level of service and support, he has since purchased FrostBoss™ C49 fans and a FrostBoss™ C59 five blade fan, which runs even more quietly than the C49, for their Kaituna block which has neighbours nearby.*
To find out more about Wairau River Wines go to www.wairauriverwines.com
- The erection and use of frost fans in Marlborough is a controlled activity with changes to noise regulations in relation to their use coming into effect in September 2014. The regulations require frost fans to not exceed 55dB at a distance of 300 metres. The FrostBoss™ C49 (4 blade fan) develops 55dB at 240 metres (51dB at 300 metres) and the FrostBoss™ C59 (5 blade fan) develops 55dB at 180 metres (49dB at 300 metres). For full details of these regulations, refer to www.marlborough.govt.nz or contact Andrew Roff at New Zealand Frost Fans on 021 276 9963, 06 879 7312 or info@aussiefrostfans.cncsites.co.nz .
Sacred Hill Marlborough has company and grower vineyards in Marlborough. Their latest development is at Bartlett’s Creek in the Wairau Valley which will see 170 hectares developed into a Sauvignon Blanc vineyard.
We caught up with Brian Woods, General Manager for Sacred Hill Marlborough. He loves the Marlborough lifestyle and appreciates the opportunities the wine industry has provided him, enabling him to stay in the area and build a livelihood.
Brian says the conversion of the Marlborough region into vineyards has coincided with technology advances, which have allowed growers to develop areas previously considered unviable. “Certainly that’s the case at Bartlett’s Creek. Frost fans have been factored into the development. It would be too big a risk without them”, he says.
Brian spends more time worrying about their supposedly frost free blocks (with no fans) than the blocks with frost fan protection.
“The impact from frost damage ripples right through the whole supply chain. Customers expect you to deliver. It’s your reputation at stake and you can’t afford to lose shelf space because it’s hard to get it back”, he says.
Contract growers are encouraged to invest in frost fans to mitigate risk around being able to deliver contract tonnages. Brian likes to think of Sacred Hill as laterally integrated, surrounding themselves with suppliers they can trust.
He explains you don’t want to start the season off badly with frost damage because your vineyard expenses carry on regardless and, in fact, are likely to increase if you employ additional labour to thin the vines to avoid the difference in ripening times between first and second shoots. Otherwise, you have to accept poor quality and that’s going to affect your wine quality.
Brian sees frost fans as a thing of beauty. Not only do they protect our livelihoods; they’re a sculpture in the vineyard. “People ask me, where’s the best place in Marlborough to avoid frosts and I tell them underneath a frost fan”, quips Brian.
Other than ‘Mother Nature’, global events and their impact on export markets are the next big risk at the front of his mind.
“Twelve years ago, up to seventy helicopters would fly in before a frost and some years we’d spend a considerable portion of our operating budget on frost protection. It quickly became obvious that fans were a more reliable and cheaper option. Not everybody believed in frost fans back then, but nowadays they’re the norm.”
Brian likes to support local industry whenever possible. He appreciates the service and support through New Zealand Frost Fans’ depot in Blenheim and knows the technology behind every FrostBoss™ machine leads the market when it comes to meeting the Marlborough District Council’s noise regulations.*
- The erection and use of frost fans in Marlborough is a controlled activity with changes to noise regulations in relation to their use coming into effect in September 2014. The regulations require frost fans to not exceed 55dB at a distance of 300 metres. The FrostBoss™ C49 (4 blade fan) develops 55dB at 240 metres (51dB at 300 metres) and the FrostBoss™ C59 (5 blade fan) develops 55dB at 180 metres (49dB at 300 metres). For full details of these regulations, refer to www.marlborough.govt.nz or contact Andrew Roff at New Zealand Frost Fans on 021 276 9963, 06 879 7312 or info@aussiefrostfans.cncsites.co.nz .
The Hickson family orchards have been growing kiwifruit since 1980. Originally the family business included dairy farming before concentrating on kiwifruit. Husband and wife team Andre and Helen Hickson’s orchard covers 15 hectares and Andre’s brother also owns a kiwifruit orchard next door. Between them they have three FrostBoss™ C49 machines protecting the vines.
With his laptop beside him there’s not much Andre cannot tell us about the factors that made each season good, bad or indifferent. As we discuss the factors which have influenced harvest yields and orchard gate returns over the years, as well as the broader industry, it’s immediately evident as to why Andre was elected to the New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers (NZKGI) executive with responsibility for performance and education.
Andre turns his laptop towards me to show what can happen when you have no frost protection and get hit. After the orchards were frosted in September 2002, the yield (trays/hectare) plummeted 80% on the prior year. The following year they put in a pond and pipelines for irrigation and frost protection. In 2007, the first frost fans were installed.
When we caught up with Andre in May 2017, they had just finished their 34th harvest and earlier in the week the fans had run for several hours on three consecutive nights. Andre explains “at this time of year we’re trying to keep the leaves on until we’ve done a post-harvest spray to protect the vines from Psa-V. Maintaining the leaf quality also supports next year’s buds and is preferential for plant nutrient retention to maximise dry matter.” Dry matter (DM) is a measure used to calculate the ratio of dry to fresh weight – the higher the dry matter the better the taste.
Dry matter reflects the amount of carbohydrates in the fruit and is one of the measures of taste developed from market research undertaken by Zespri. The Taste Zespri Grade (TZG) was introduced in 2001 with the objective to produce the best tasting kiwifruit in each segment (Green, Gold, Red) and for this superior taste experience to be consistently delivered to the consumer.
The orchards are managed by EHC Orchard Management and the fruit supplied to Zespri through Trevelyan’s and DMS.
Looking to the future, the Hicksons have another 6 hectares from the original dairy farm they could develop for kiwifruit and they’re looking at another fan for Andre’s brother’s orchard. “It’ll work out more cost effective than putting in water and it’s good to keep the water off – Psa likes cold and damp conditions”, says Andre.
Jim McBride purchased his first Hayward Green, 3 hectare, tee bar orchard in September 1978.
Jim’s son, Murray, took up the opportunity to build a life and business within the industry, which led to the development of multiple orchards and a management company called BAYGOLD Ltd.
With around 40 permanent employees, currently another 40 employed for picking under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) programme and four contracting companies with a couple of hundred staff between them BAYGOLD provides significant employment in the region.
Today BAYGOLD manages approximately 250 hectares of kiwifruit orchards, the majority of which fall under a JV partnership company.
We spoke with Keiran Harvey, Producing Orchard Manager, who is responsible for 105 hectares of Gold3 variety orchards.
BAYGOLD has four FrostBoss™ C49 frost fans, which are used in combination with water for frost protection.
Keiran explains “the fans are positioned in the more vulnerable, colder, low spots in the orchards and we use them as our first line of defence against frosts. We had three consecutive frosts earlier in the week and only used the fans.
“With all the fruit now off the plants, the main objective at this time of the year is to protect the plant internals. At -3°c or lower, the Psa risk becomes much greater and can cause the trunks to blow out on the young plants.”
With the Gold3 variety licenses selling for a median price per hectare of $270,000 in the latest round of licence release and average per-hectare returns increasing by close to 40% in 2015/16, there’s now a greater incentive to manage the risk of cold injury and invest in frost protection.
For more information about BAYGOLD, go to www.baygold.co.nz
Dimchurch Vineyards cover 135 hectares, primarily shiraz, aged up to 130 years, as well as grenache and mataro.
We spoke with Adrian Hoffmann shortly after picking had finished for the 2018 vintage, which saw above average yields on their 80-year old shiraz and excellent quality with less ‘hens and chicks’ and better bunch set. Adrian employs around 40 pickers during harvesting.
Adrian, a fifth-generation vigneron, grew up helping on the family vineyards in Ebenezer. Today, Dimchurch supplies grapes to twenty-six wineries producing premium Barossa wines and around fifteen tonnes to produce Barossa Shiraz under the ‘Hoffmann Vineyards’ and ‘Dimchurch’ labels through a joint-venture with Chris Ringland.
The older shiraz grapes sell for up to $10,000 per tonne. Quality and provenance go hand-in-hand from sourcing of the barrel oak to the cooperage and the growing conditions for the vintage through to the finished wines. Over the last year, the grenache variety has found a new wave of interest having picked up top awards in the Barossa Regional Wine Awards and the Royal Adelaide Wine Show.
When it comes to risk, Adrian cites frost highest followed by water and disease. The climate and soils of the Barossa Valley vary markedly from north to south. The Ebenezer district has low rainfall and relative humidity which results in full, intensely coloured wines. “Our vineyards are typically 2ºC cooler in winter and 2ºC hotter in summer compared to the higher areas of the Barossa, but the soil provides a unique complexity.”
In 2013, Dimchurch Vineyards suffered 40% loss due to frost followed by 70% loss in 2014 when the whole area was covered with spring frosts and growers who had never previously been affected were frosted. So, the decision was made to install six frost fans. “Since then one of the fans alone, protecting 100-year old shiraz, has paid for itself twelve times over in four years. It saved $250,000 worth of grapes in the first year alone,” says Adrian.
Today, Dimchurch has ten FrostBoss C49 (4-blades) and three FrostBoss C59 (5-blades) fans. “You mitigate risk by controlling what you can … our customers rely on us for supply and to do what we can to protect hard-won shelf space for their wines. In fact, one of our customers, Glaetzer Wines, helped us buy two of the fans.”
“Frost fans have seen our average yield increase by 2 tonnes per hectare. We prefer fans over water irrigation, which can jeopardise quality if you’re watering for frost when the vines don’t need it,” explains Adrian.
Adrian’s knowledge and passion are impressive. It’s a great time to be in the industry and the Barossa is at the forefront. Throughout the 1990s the Hoffmann family vineyards became firmly established as the source of some of the most sought-after grapes in the Barossa and under Adrian’s custodianship that reputation lives on.
Trinity Lands manages 115 hectares and picks 1.5 million trays of kiwifruit.
We spoke with Nathan Smith, Orchard Manager, who looks after 76 hectares in Paengaroa, and has been involved since 2000.
Over the last few years, Nathan explains how they have expanded with the purchase of kiwifruit orchards in Athenree and Awakeri to add to their holdings in Paengaroa and Katikati. They predominantly grow the Gold3 variety with some Hayward Green.
Trinity Lands has six FrostBoss™ C49 frost fans, which are used in combination with water for frost protection. Because Psa likes cold and damp conditions “we use the fans in the wetter areas rather than introducing more water”, explains Nathan. “The Psa risk still has to be managed by spraying and cleaning tools and machinery, which all takes time and money. Nevertheless, some plants and canes die back and areas of replanting are required.”
“In the days before we had the frost fans, we sometimes used helicopters. It costs about $12,500 to contract a helicopter and once this is used up you pay by the hour. You have to make a decision by 4.30pm whether to call them in and have them on stand-by, even though you may not end up using them. Now we have the frost fans, we don’t have to make those hard calls and it’s easier to sleep at night.”
Whilst weather and disease directly affect your orchard gate return, Nathan also places a great emphasis on his team. “Growing kiwifruit is labour intensive – it’s your biggest cost – good people and the right culture are so important.”
This philosophy extends to their suppliers. “With a local service depot here in Te Puke, we get good back-up service from New Zealand Frost Fans.”
A.C.N Orchards is a family-owned and operated business, that began in 1984 when Cohn and Nick Parris formed the business. The brothers dedicated themselves to growing and developing a business based on quality over quantity. The idea was to supply fruit to not only the major supermarket chains and canning factories but to focus on the premium independent retailers as well as the premium export markets.
ACN Orchards in Bunbartha, Victoria grow stonefruit and apples. Brothers Cohn and Nick Parris were third generation growers sharing responsibility for running the business, employing up to 75 staff when picking and packing.
In 2020, ACN Orchards tragically lost a major part of their operation with the passing of Nick. Although Nick took with him a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion that could never possibly be replaced the family decided to continue his legacy in growing and supplying the best possible fruit they can, in his honour.
After Cohn first saw the fans working at his cousin John Parris’ orchard in Bunbartha (north of Shepparton), he bought his first three FrostBoss® C49 machines in 2011 with another three installed during 2014-15.
Whilst it’s only every few years that frosts would have been a disaster without the fans, Cohn sees them as an insurance policy and notes they prevent what would otherwise be regular crop loss in the low points of undulating land.
Cohn has also seen greater consistency in the crop. Sometimes you saw a line through the trees where there was no fruit before the fans went in.
ACN Orchards have their own packing shed and with the combination of stonefruit and apple varieties – Granny Smith and Pink Lady – they harvest for six months of the year through until mid-May.
Cohn and Nick did their research. Nick regularly travelled to the USA to research new varieties and growing techniques. And when it came to choosing their frost fans they also did their homework. “The FrostBoss® fans are simple to operate and local support and service back up is excellent”, says Cohn.
Bindi Wines, based 50 kilometres north-west of Melbourne in the Macedon ranges, is the family property of the Dhillon family. Originally purchased in the 1950s as part of the larger grazing farm ‘Bundaleer’, ‘Bindi’ is a 170 hectare farm of which 7 hectares are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Fifteen hectares are dedicated to managed plantation eucalypts for high grade furniture timber whilst the remainder of the land is maintained as remnant bush land and important indigenous grasslands.
Typical hand management regimes of fastidious small vineyard philosophies are maintained encompassing hand pruning, frequent passes (at least ten passes each vine) through the growing season managing the vertical shoot positioned canopy and hand harvesting.
Since 2005 organic procedures have been implemented and inputs where the focus is on promoting soil life and balance leading to excellent vine health. This involves compost, under-vine cultivation and aerating the soil (opening up the soil for air, moisture and soil applications).
Bindi Wines use a single FrostBoss™ C49 frost fan to protect their boutique vineyard. With a vineyard elevation 500 metres above sea level, owner Michael Dhillon tells us the fan has run a couple of times over summer – he remembers the time and dates and you can sense the peace of mind and relief they provide – automatically firing up around 6.00am on 21st February and also after a light frost on 19th December. “It would have clocked up around 20 hours over the last 12 months”, says Michael.
The critical time with wine grapes is during spring if there are potentially damaging cold events at postbudbreak stages of grape development.
As well as their own Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, Bindi Wines source Shiraz grapes from a friend’s block up the road. Bindi Wines are rare but recognised among Australia’s finest. For more details go to www.bindiwines.com.au
G & M Vraca own three orchard blocks close to Toolamba, in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria growing stonefruit and citrus.
Carmelo Vraca is the third generation in the business with his father and grandfather originally growing tomatoes.
Citrus can provide good returns, but Carmelo explains the area around Murchison and Toolamba is not a traditional citrus growing area. Carmello says that “lemons and limes are very sensitive to frost, and during winter it just gets too cold here so you need frost fans to be able to grow fruit”.
The move into citrus growing came around ten years ago and the trees have been protected by FrostBoss™ fans since coming into production. Carmelo prefers fans over using water for frost protection because sprinkler lines can freeze.
Whilst stonefruit requires winter chilling hours to prolong dormancy, spring frosts cause damage to flowers and fruitlets and can severely reduce yields. Stonefruit at the small green fruit stage are more susceptible to frost damage than the blossoms.
Carmelo recalls the days when they used to burn hay – but that was expensive, proved to have no real effect, and you can’t do that nowadays due to the pollution it created.
The Burt family settled in Te Puke in the early 1940’s. Dairying and citrus provided a modest income. Today the business grows Hayward and G3 kiwifruit and is run by brothers John and Peter making them third generation growers.
Of the several orchards they own, two properties are each protected by two FrostBoss™ C49 machines. With the acquisition of additional G3 license on the orchard at No 3 Road and the blocks being both prone to frost damage and closer to a residential area they installed the even quieter FrostBoss™ C59 (5 blade machine).
We caught up with the brothers in late May at the end of picking. Their frost machines had run for three consecutive nights earlier in the week. “The frost machines are an ‘insurance policy’ we wouldn’t be without”, says Peter.
During spring, the machines protect kiwifruit vines from damage caused by spring frosts: protecting newly emerged buds, flowers, young fruitlets and newly formed leaf canopy. During autumn, the fans protect the orchard from frosts that can cause fruit damage and burning of the the leaves, which can lead to subsequent fruit staining. By protecting the leaves, it also gives the vine time to release nutrients stored back to the roots prior to shedding.
“With the FrostBoss™ fans, we use the remote monitoring option”, says Peter. This enables growers to access real-time monitoring of fans via their smartphone, together with text alarms and historical data and graphs on temperature, run-hours and machine performance.
“We chose Frost Boss™ because they are New Zealand made. The value of the local high quality afterhours service is unparalleled.
- The erection and use of frost fans in Western Bay of Plenty District is a controlled activity with changes to noise regulations in relation to their use coming into effect in 18 October 2003. Current rules apply to both fixed and portable frost protection fans and, in most cases, an application for resource consent will be required prior to establishing the fan. A guide on Frost Protection Fans (PDF, 34.0KB) is available. The regulations require the noise levels measured within the notional boundary of any dwelling within the rural zone to not exceed 55dBA Leq and 65 dBA Lmax. The FrostBoss™ C49 (4 blade fan) develops 55dB at 240 metres (51dB at 300 metres) and the FrostBoss™ C59 (5 blade fan) develops 55dB at 180 metres (49dB at 300 metres). For full details of these regulations, refer to www.westernbay.govt.nz or contact Andrew Roff at New Zealand Frost Fans on 021 276 9963, 06 879 7312 or info@aussiefrostfans.cncsites.co.nz.
Kaso Orchards in Coomboona is a family business growing plums and apples.
The Kasos have been on the 200 acres (80 hectare) property since 1959. Today the business is run by brothers Alex and Skinder Kaso and with Skinder’s son now in the business, there’s three generations involved.
They use high density trellis planting techniques with three branches either side to allow good light penetration.
Three earlier model FrostBoss™ fans protect their crops, which they plan to upgrade with the more efficient composite blades this year as well as buying two new FrostBoss™ C49 machines for a new block of land. Construction of a new shed is also in their plans for additional storage.
In addition to the peace of mind the fans provide, they improve the quality of the fruit. “We see less scarring on the plums” says Alex. “Having fruit downgraded can halve the price you get so it’s a big impact.”
Alex and Skinder pride themselves on quality. “We’re fussy packers and want to maintain a reputation for quality to protect our name.”
Before they had the fans, Alex recalls the 2006 frost which burnt off the plums and lost a lot of apples.
“Water sprinkling isn’t an option because it would use too much water”, explains Alex. They could easily use 10% of their annual water right for frost protection and they say that’s just too much, particularly when it’s being applied at a time of year when the water is not helping growth as well.
The risk around water security also appears to be increasing. There’s a lot more uncertainty around water allocation as a percentage of your water rights and, if you need more, prices on the open market have skyrocketed.
Kaso Orchards plums are packed through until late April. Export markets include Hong Kong and Thailand.
Koala Cherries is based in Yarck, in north east Victoria. Today, cousins Michael (Mick) and Simon Rouget own and operate this third generation cherry growing, packing and marketing business. They farm more than 200 hectares of cherries across three locations: Cobram, Yarck/Alexandra and Strathbogie.
Their packing shed at Yarck employs around 150 staff when grading and packing both their own produce and contract packing for other growers.
We asked Simon to define success and their major risks to achieving it. “With cherry growing it’s all about minimising risk”. He explains the key metrics around profitability come back to yield, fruit size, pack out and price. Talking with Simon it’s clear they have identified their key risks. Spring frost, poor pollination weather during bloom, access to irrigation water, pests and disease, and too much rain at harvest time are their largest risks in producing cherries. “Remove risk where you can”.
Koala Cherries supplies Coles supermarkets, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane wholesale markets and a number of export markets demanding high standards. “Our aim is to supply premium cherries every week of the cherry season.”
Cherries are most susceptible to frost injury during the period between bud swell and shuck fall. Blossoms and small green fruit are susceptible even to a light frost. At bloom time cherry blossoms can only withstand temperatures of -2°C for half an hour. Nearly all flowers are killed at -4°C.
“It’s a fine line between too cold and OK”, continues Simon. “A light frost can cause the skin to crack which later manifests itself as a scar. Cherries are a pretty risky crop. Without frost protection on some of our blocks, the risk would be too high. I would say 90 percent of the time, fans will save your crop.”
Mick is involved with the Cherry Growers Association and is a national representative on the export working group helping to maximise access to overseas markets. Mick and Simon regularly travel overseas to investigate new methods and varieties. You can learn a lot traveling, sometimes it’s just as important to learn what not to do as well. “Frost fans are very common in some regions we visit in the US.”
Koala Cherries has a shed door retail outlet offering fresh cherries, preserves and cherry gifts and is open from 9am – 5pm, 7 days a week during the cherry season. For more details go to www.kco.com.au
Diaco Fresh grow citrus, stonefruit and pome fruit across four locations in Cobram and Berrigan, Victoria and NSW. They have recently completed construction of a new state-of-the-art packing shed facility in Cobram with an impressive 92m x 109m footprint and supply Woolworths under the Sun Country Fresh label.
Diaco Fresh bought the Mowbray block from a potato grower in 2009 and first planted it with oranges, mandarins and lemons two years later. Angelo Diaco explains how they worked closely with Australian Frost Fans on the project from the start. “Twenty Data loggers were used during the winter of those two years to capture night-time temperatures so we really understood what was going on – both at ground level and at 9 metres (from where the frost fans draw their air).”
A severe winter frost will kill a juvenile citrus tree. With this in mind (and armed with the data logging information collected over the previous two winters), the first installation of six fans was strategically placed to protect juvenile trees in the coldest sections of the property.
Two years later, another three machines were installed to extend the protection over trees which were expected to produce fruit for harvest. “We’ve now got nine FrostBoss™ C49 fans at Mowbray with more going in this year to protect the orchard as it comes into production. Out at Mowbray, the fans did their job running for over 100 hours last winter to prevent frost injury on the citrus. The previous season, when it was colder, some machines clocked up 270 hours.”
Angelo recalls the major frosts of 2007-8 and 1998 when they had consecutive mornings of -8°C. That year they lost their lemon crop but managed to save the trees.
“If it wasn’t for putting in the frost fans we would have lost not only the fruit but many entire trees. Two nights in a row at -8°C still saw us lose much of the crop – even with frost fans running – but the trees were spared and the following year we harvested a full crop. Prior to installing the fans, severe winter frosts would see trees taking three or more years to return to full production.
Frost fans are an insurance policy. By saving the trees and giving us a full crop that second year, they paid for themselves straightaway,” explains Angelo.
They tried to use water prior to installing fans. But for citrus, “it just doesn’t work in the middle of winter because the sprinklers freeze.”
Growing stonefruit provides many challenges. “This season crop yields and prices are down after a mild winter with not enough chill hours on the stonefruit or apples. We’re happy that the frost fans on our stonefruit, however, made sure that the smaller volume of fruit that did develop was well protected through the spring.”
Next up, Diaco Fresh are looking at growing avocados and maybe persimmons. Both are susceptible to frost injury with one grower in nearby Barooga losing more than 85 per cent of his persimmon crop when temperatures dropped to below zero in mid-October 2013. “If we go down that track, we’ll be needing more frost fans”, says Angelo.
JV Orchards started 25 years ago when brothers John and Jo Ventre bought their first orchard in 1992. Today, JV Orchards grow lemons, pears and stonefruit across three locations around Cobram.
Oranges were being grown when they bought the block at Singapore Road. Fifteen years ago, they replanted in stone fruit and lucerne. Not long after the lucerne was replaced with lemon trees.
Before the days of lemons, they used to protect the stone fruit from frosts with water irrigation but John says that “wouldn’t have been enough to save the lemons. Over 2015-16, we had some cracker frosts. The fans saved us.”
JV Orchards have four FrostBoss™ C49 fans protecting their crops, two on lemons and the others on stonefruit and pears. “One fan on our lemon orchard protects a colder gully and has done a power of work this last winter clocking 180 hours.”
Because of the frost fans, JV Orchards are able to grow their lemons using the open vase system. This allows greater light penetration into the tree and the fruit develops on the outside of the tree making it easier to pick. With the trees more exposed using this system, frost fan protection becomes even more critical.
It’s not just the lemons though. John says a good frost on the pears at the wrong time causes ring marks on the skin. “We used to get that before we had the fans”, says John.
With frost fans making it viable to grow lemons, “it’s been good for us. Lemons provide cashflow through the winter months and the combination of lemons, pears and stonefruit means we’re picking most of the year providing consistent work for our pickers and packers.”
PFP Pty Ltd trading as Pacific Fresh was formed in 1993 by a group of individual citrus growers in the Riverina. In 1996 the shareholders decided to merge their operations together, thereby shutting down their individual packing houses and moving all their operations into one central and updated location based half way between Yanco and Leeton, NSW. This has helped Pacific Fresh to ensure that they can maintain a high standard of quality for all their customers.
Leeton, NSW is located in the Riverina and is the heart of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, approximately 550kms south west from Sydney, 500kms north of Melbourne and 850kms east of Adelaide. Leeton is a showcase of contemporary rural Australia with its Art Deco history, diverse agriculture and renowned country hospitality.
Pacific Fresh is owned and managed by 8 shareholders/directors, who are mostly 3rd generation farmers and collectively own up to 1,900 acres of citrus varieties and grape vines. Pacific Fresh has a 12% share of citrus grown in the Riverina and packs and markets a wide range of citrus varieties including; Summer Navels, Late Lane Navels, Cara Cara Navels, Valencia’s, Lemons, Grapefruit and the new Dekopon mandarin variety known as the Sumo Citrus.
Pacific Fresh exports their quality local citrus to Canada, UK, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Russia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India and Middle East markets including, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, and into the USA (as a shareholder of Riversun Export Pty Ltd).
Having suffered crop losses due to frost in May 2017, Pacific Fresh contacted Australian Frost Fans to investigate the opportunity to install frost fans. After a meeting in February 2018, 3 of the growers decided to install 9 FrostBoss™ C49 (4-blade) frost fans. Australian Frost Fans provided layouts for the fans and managed the Development Application process through Leeton Shire Council. All the fans were installed by early May in time to protect against frost damage through the winter months.
The FrostBoss™ machines proved themselves through the winter months of 2018 to the extent that the same 3 growers want to install more machines on their farms in 2019 and the remaining grower shareholders in Pacific Fresh also want to install machines on their farms.
Frank Mercuri, Chairman of Pacific Fresh explains, “we put in 2 frost fans in April 2018 in blocks of 18 months old Lemons and Navels. In the winter of 2017, we had many severe frosts in our area with temperatures dropping to minus 5.5ºC and had severe frost damage on our trees with some having to be replaced because of the frost damage. So, we decided to install 2 frost fans in these blocks. In the winter of 2018, there was hardly any damage in the same blocks where the frost fans have been installed and we had temperatures of minus 6.3ºC so they do work. This year we are installing 5 more frost fans.”
Grower/shareholder Marcello Mallamace has 5 fans. He says whilst he’d be happy with a yield of 40 tonnes per hectare for his Valencia’s, he’s now hoping to get 50 – 60 tonnes per hectare.
Frost fans are an insurance policy. By saving the trees and gaining a full crop, the fans pay for themselves quickly and provide supply security and consistent fruit quality for the packing shed and for our customers.
Barry Avery is a veteran of the avocado industry having grown avocados for over 30 years as well as consulting and serving on the Board of Avocados Australia, the representative industry body for the Australian avocado industry.
Barry recently sold his 40 hectares of avocado orchards in Robinvale – which were protected by FrostBoss™ C49 (4-blade) machines – and bought 8 hectares at Invincible Bend in Tol Tol. Here he’s just finished building a new home next to the Murray River.
The plan was to retire from growing but despite the “terrible environment”, Barry has planted avocado trees, unable to resist the challenge.
The new trees were hit by frost back in June and many will have to be replaced. Now looking to protect the trees with a FrostBoss™ C49 machine, Barry concedes he “should have known better and done it earlier – frosts are an annual event in this area – but there was a lot going on with building the new house.”
“One consolation for growing a tropical tree in this climate is you don’t need to spray for tropical pests – much easier if you want to introduce organic growing practices.”
Barry has been working with agronomist, Lisa Martin from Ripe Horticulture, to establish the right programme of nutrients, which he says “is quite different to what the Queensland growers would use.”
“But ‘Mother Nature’ is the biggest challenge. Growers are starting to appreciate the unseen damage which even light frosts can cause, including damage to developing fruit buds.”
For avocados, frost fans are the default option, according to Barry. “Irrigation is only good down to -2°C, otherwise the pipes can freeze and the trees split down the centre. Similarly, with the high hours of required protection against frost damage and cold injury – which can be well over 100 hours per annum – helicopters would be just too expensive.”
Given the high running hours, fuel efficiency of the fan is an important consideration. Compared to a conventional 2-bladed fan, the FrostBoss™ C49 blade is designed to have the correct aerodynamic pitch all the way from the tip to the root of the blade. This means every section of the blade is angled correctly to produce the same wind speed, from the tip to the root. This produces a uniform wind speed across the whole fan blade, and so no turbulent mixing … a uniform tube of wind speed from the fan disc, where all the energy is used to produce wind speed not turbulence.
And the result is a quieter, more fuel efficient frost fan with a better coverage area.
We spoke with Diego González, Production Manager at Agricola Mancel.
“We have two frost control towers with four blades each which we bought last year. We bought the towers to use with our cherries and use them from August to September until the frosts end.”
“The value of the towers comes from the protection they bring to our cherries from frosts on those dates, therefore, we incorporate the towers to ensure productivity in the first part of the year where the risk of frost increases.”
“We have had a good experience with the company. Some of the reasons are as follows: The machines are simple and they work well and they have an integrated fuel tank which makes work safer (theft or possible diesel transfers within the field). Regarding sound, they impact the community less and for these reasons we are very happy with the products.” “What stands out about the company is the product, in that it is very good in itself. Last year the experience I had with them, at least with Juan Pablo, is that they complied well with the dates and I had no problems with deliveries or agreements we had.”
Chamonate SpA., Is a family business located in the commune of Rosario, Rengo city, Libertador Region, a fruit-growing area par excellence.
We spoke with owner Raúl Campaña Goycoolea, fourth generation of the Campaña family.
“These products (the fans) have helped me tremendously because they work automatically by keeping control of the temperature which saves us time. The Frost Fan does the work itself, the only thing that we have to worry about is the fuel tank.”
“We got the Frost Fan in 2020. We have other brands, but we like FrostBoss® the most because it is constructed better and is more complete. The interesting thing is that these machines have monitoring software placed in the cloud.”
“I’ve had a good experience with the company and we have never had problems. They respond right away.”
“What I emphasize is that the system has never failed, they always have it up to date.”
More details are available at www.chamonate.cl
Dos Amalias is located in Valle del Maipo in the Metropolitan region of Chile.
We spoke with Agricultural Manager Rodrigo Torrealba.
“We have three Frost Fans (I bought one in 2019 and two last year). We have done analyses and they’ve shown that the machines have fulfilled their objectives, which is why we acquired them.”
“I want to emphasize that the noise from the machines is lower and they have helped us in frost control. The Frost Fan alone raises the temperature by 2.5°C, therefore, to reach a higher temperature, we install heaters next to the tower, which between the two raise the heat 4.5°C.”
“The experience with FrostBoss® has been good. Juan Pablo is very attentive and if we have a problem, they solve it right away.” “The company’s values are centered on first and foremost that its products fulfill their function. Also, the frost control equipment is low in diesel consumption, which is a relevant issue when making a decision to purchase.”
TrioRiego is located in Curico.
We spoke with José Ramon Espinoza, Administration and Finance Manager at TrioRiego.
“The machine I bought worked very well. In 2020, which was a very frosty year, the machine failed at four in the morning and it was repaired at seven in the morning. They acted immediately and that is what is needed in the agricultural area.”
“My experience with FrostBoss® has been great. I want to highlight the direct contact with the company, the quick solutions and the compliance with the product standards.”
“I have been using the product for a year and I hope it continues to work. I had heard that the wind machine propellers make loud noises, which causes problems. On the other hand, the FrostBoss® propellers have very low noise levels and therefore I have no problems with the neighbors.”
Cobram Estate Olives is Australia’s largest producer and market leader of premium quality extra virgin olive oil with 2.4 million olive trees progressively planted on over 6,500 hectares of farmland in Central and North-West Victoria.
The company has evolved significantly since it was established in 1998 by Paul Riordan and Rob McGavin. The following year, the first olive tree was planted at Boundary Bend – where the majority of their frost fans are installed.
Today, the company has export customers in 17 countries, is an ASX publicly listed company and has a portfolio of premium brands. Being Australia’s largest vertically integrated olive oil producer, the 2021 olive harvest was the largest to date – producing a yield of over 16 million litres.
In July 2018, Cobram Estate Olives commissioned Climate Consulting Limited to complete 4 weeks of measurements as part of a detailed frost risk assessment towards mitigating frost damage and to provide a scientific basis for frost fan placement. Strong inversion layers were recorded indicating that frost fans would be effective in drawing warm air downwards. Frost risk maps were then used to place approximately 100 frost fans throughout the grove to protect areas of high risk.
Australian Frost Fans has subsequently been working with Cobram Estate Olives to protect their olives since 2018. “The investment in FrostBoss® Frost Fans was seen as excellent value compared to the estimated $24 million lost to frost in the previous year”, explains Rob.
After completing the 2019 harvest in July that year, the harvest across the Boundary Bend and Boort groves produced 13.1 million litres, compared to the previous year’s frost-affected crop of 5.4 million litres.
Further frost risk assessments were conducted throughout the groves, and nowadays there are 137 machines at the Boundary Bend grove (between Mildura and Swan Hill), 13 machines at Boort (near Bendigo) installed in the early 2000s and 26 machines installed at the Wemen grove (between Mildura and Swan Hill). “With a total of 176 frost fan machines, the orchard growers are given peace of mind knowing that frost mitigation is in place across the groves”.
Having a longstanding relationship with Cobram Estate Olives, the team at Australian Frost Fans are there every step of the way from sales support, to installation and servicing of the machines.