A MAJOR Shepparton pear and plum orchardist has received a $500,000 grant to fund its expansion into organic production.
Kalafatis Fresh Produce, which runs a 500,000-tree orchard, has received the grant from the Woolworths Organic Growth Fund to serve the growing demand for organic produce, which is rising by about 20 percent annually.
The grant will see their 50-year partnership with the supermarket chain, branch out into organics with the purchase of infrastructure to farm organic pears, including a vertical espalier trellis to cover the crop with pest-proof netting and an irrigation system above the orchard floor to allow for mowing between trees, a critical task when herbicides aren’t in use.
Kalafatis Fresh Produce managing director, Jimmy Kalafatis said, “Consumers are putting more organic produce into their shopping baskets every week – that’s what we’re seeing and what the statistics are telling us.
“We applied for the grant because we want to be at the forefront of potential growth markets in Australian fresh produce.”
Mr Kalafatis said the orchard would be starting a greenfield site to plant roughly 20,000 new pear trees this year.
