One enterprising farm in rural Victoria has managed to totally beat the odds and avoid the ‘market price drag’ many fruit growers experience, even though it suffered the loss of 75% of its crops in September last year. Rayner’s Orchard, located near Hoddles Creek and Ferntree Gully 90 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD, was happily selling an oversupply of apricots for $5 per kilo earlier in February, and stocks are expected to last until next week, when the harvest is due to end.
Farmer Len Rayner won’t be heard complaining or lamenting the market price on any of the 364 crops to come out of his property either. “We’ve set it up so that we’ve got fruit every day of the year,” he says. “We set our own prices, and we sell at our own prices. We lost 75% of our crop in September because of too much frost, but because we’re so diversified it’s made no difference.”
While losing so many crops to frost wasn’t easy, the economic impact was minimal. “I was a bit annoyed. It was a bit of a nuisance, but it’s made no difference to our turnover,” says Mr Rayner. The farm also supplies 3-4 local restaurants, and retail outlets, but also does a good trade in farm tours and tastings, educational tours, bottling workshops and other events, which are heavily attended by tourists from Asia.
Peaches (yellow and white flesh), plums (all varieties), kiwi fruit, nectarines and a cross called a ‘nectaplum’ are just some of the varieties on offer at different times of the year. The total number of varieties is expected to reach 400 during the next year, according to Mr Rayner.
For more information:
Len Rayner
Rayner’s Orchard
Phone: +61 3 5964 7654
E-mail: len@raynerstonefruit.com.au
Website: www.raynerstonefruit.com.au