Trial Apples In Tapawera

Dave McGaveston has done it all. He has farmed sheep, beef, dairy, grains and now he is trialling some unique varieties of apples on his 600ha farm in Tapawera.

With 120ha of irrigated horticulture land on his farm Dave and his son Aaron made the decision in 2016 to plant some apples. Apples might have been new to the farm, but they weren’t newto Dave “I had planted apples in the early 90’s in Ngatimoti but moved out ofthem in the early 2000’s in line with the deregulation of the apple industry.” The decision to renter the industry recently stemmed from Dave’s desire to implement a profitable succession plan for his children “The land needs a better cashflow than traditional farming can provide, we started slowly by planting 12ha of apples.”

There are no other apples grown in Tapawera currently, the McGavestons are the first “Perhaps we are the only one’s game enough to give it a go,” he laughs “we very fertile soil here it only lacks water without irrigation.” Tapawera has a very different climate and soil to the Waimea Plains which gives them the opportunity to grow some unique varieties as well as trial some new apple varieties. “We currently grow Koru, Royal Honey Crisp, some trial apples and Pink Lady.” says Dave. There is a worldwide over supply of Pink Lady apples in the market currently and in response to this Dave explains that he is deciding what variety he will use to replace the 5,500 Pink Lady apples trees they currently have.

Two trial varieties currently on the property are meeting expectations and Dave says there is great demand for these unique varieties. “Honey Crisp is an absolute winner.” Dave adds. Honeycrisp is new to New Zealand but established as a super-premium apple in USA and Europe, yielding high grower returns currently two to three times the retail price of other varieties. Their sweet-tart flavour paired with unrivalled crispness makes it an exceptional eating apple that is sought after.

The other trial variety, which currently has no name, is the red fleshed apple. These striking apples have a sweet flavor with brix levels over 15, they have beautiful red and gold coloured skin on the outside and are naturally red on the inside when mature. The fruit's red flesh is caused by a high concentration of anthocyanin, an antioxidant known to offer health benefits. They are crisp and juicy and are ideal for eating, using in salads or baking without added sugar. “They are a beautiful apple very sweet and really juicy,” Dave explains “we are moving into the red fleshed apples and testing markets with them this season.”

Harvest is completed by a group of RSE workers that come from a larger orchard when they have quite patches “The guys earn good money and it gives them employment during the quiet times,” Dave says “our apples are trucked to Thomas Bros Riwaka where they are packed, graded and stored in the cool store before going on to be exported.”

Dave and Aaron have plans to continue their orchard expansion, as well as explore some other fruits that have potential. To enable expansion to happen in a cost effective and timely manner they have decided to sell 80ha of prime horticultural land with water rights “Developing costs are high and we need to be realistic hence the decision to sell off prime hort or viticulture land that also will benefit the person who buys it. There is a real shortage of land with water consent out here which is what makes our land parcel unique.”

In the year ending June 2021, the revenue from apple and pear exports from New Zealand amounted to around 831 million New Zealand dollars. The export value of apples and pears is forecast to increase to around 1.01 billion New Zealand dollars this year – 2023. The Tapawera soil, mixed with the current apple demand provides a promising apple future. Dave says, “People need to realise there are opportunities in other parts of the district for all fruits, we are proving it can be good.”