Name: November 2024 Future Orchards® Spring Series – Victoria
Start: 2024-11-22T10:30:00+11:00
Location: Fankhauser Apples

November 2024 Future Orchards® Spring Series – Victoria

Apple and Pear Australia Limited

Join us this November for the APAL Future Orchards Spring Orchard Walks.

Fankhauser Apples

Join us at APAL’s Future Orchards® Spring Series of orchard walks from 18–22 November.As part of the Developing orchardists of the future pilot project under Hort Innovation's Frontiers investment program, the theme for this spring series is "Improve or remove: Diagnosing your financial performance."Representatives from APAL’s technical partner AgFirst will build on their winter discussion on identifying the performance type of your blocks and guide discussions on how growers can set up for a cost-efficient harvest with learnings from this data utilising the Orchard Business Analysis (OBA) data.On the Southern Loop, Sarah de Bruin from AgFirst will be joined by Poliana Francescatto Ph.D., Global Technical Development Manager - PGRs at Valent Biosciences who will discuss flower initiation and differentiation and provide context on ways to manipulate this for your benefit in the orchard.On the Northern Loop, Cameron Burt from AgFirst will be joined by Jeff Cleveringa from Columbia Fruit (USA) who will discuss how to move forward in a supply-pressured market and ways to gain efficiency in the orchard, whether by improving performance, removing poor performing blocks or introducing technology. Jeff will also outline his experience with implementing autonomous sprayers and the lessons from this process.As detailed earlier in the year only one walk will be offered in each state, with those from the Goulburn Valley asked to travel to the Southern Victoria (where both guest speakers will present) and those from Orange and Bilpin are asked to attend one of our other events or to engage with the guest presentation recordings online once uploaded (to be communicated via Industry Juice and published to APAL's Youtube channel).Poliana FrancescattoTopic - Plant hormones - flower initiation, differentiation and other processes in your treesPoliana Francescatto works for Valent BioSciences, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical, since Jan 2019 as a Global Technical Development Manager, with responsibilities for market and technical development of PGRs in fruit crops around the world, working very close to growers to attend their unmet needs. She is an applied fruit physiologist based in Oregon USA, with vast experience on the use of plant growth regulators, floral biology and crop load management of pome and stone fruit. Poli is a daughter of a first-generation tree fruit growing family in Santa Catarina, Brazil, and that is how her passion for horticulture began. She received her PhD degree in 2014 in Plant Sciences from a joint research program from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) and the Ohio State University (USA). Since then, Poli worked in various postdoctoral research and extension positions at EMBRAPA and Cornell University focusing on orchard management practices and plant growth regulator use in tree fruit crops.Jeff CleveringaTopic - Finding the opportunities and avoiding pitfalls during an economic downturn, lessons from Washington.Jeff was raised on a family farm where he helped with the daily tasks of farming. After high school Jeff attended Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science. After college Jeff worked for Simplot Grower Solutions as a horticulturist in Quincy, then moved to Starr Ranch Growers (Custom Apple Packers) as a horticulturist working with growers. He left Starr Ranch for a few years to work at Cave B managing farming operations, assisting in wine making, and overseeing various aspects of resort construction. During this time he was also partner in PickerTech where the group Partnered with Oxbo and tried to mechanize aspects of apple harvest building a “apple harvester”. He later returned to Starr Ranch Growers in Research and Development. At this position he helped launch two new apple varieties JUICI and Karma. Jeff took an opportunity to manage orchards with Columbia Fruit Packers in 2023. He is currently managing 1000 acres of high density modern orchards in central Washington state. His variety mix includes Kanzi, Kiku, Smitten, Gala, Cosmic Crisp, Honeycrisp, Evercrisp, and Granny Smith, as well as cherry varieties Rainier, Sweetheart, Skeena, Lapins. Jeff is currently Head of Orchard Operations where he manages orchards and works with other company orchards developing best management and horticultural practices.

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November 2024 Future Orchards® Spring Series – Victoria

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November 2024 Future Orchards® Spring Series – Victoria

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