Local businessman, Justin Birchmore, has a range of interests spread between Western Australia and Tasmania these days and has just taken his first tangible step towards developing a meaningful footprint in agriculture.
“I’ve long been a fan of agribusiness, but I’ve yet to bring a project in the sector to fruition,” said Birchmore.
A company controlled by Birchmore, Green Planet Agriculture, has drawn upon its in-house expertise to investigate a number of potential projects over the years, but is now focussed on the exclusive Tasmanian rights it’s secured to a proprietary, high-yielding cherry plum hybrid fruit by the name of Nadia; developed in Western Australia in response to consumer demands for longer shelf life and more consistency in the quality of fruit.
To spearhead Green Planet’s efforts, former CEO of the Tasmanian Farmers & Graziers Association, Jan Davis, has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer. In addition to assisting with raising important seed capital for project development, Davis’ first step will be to manage planting optimisation trials at various sites around the State with yet to be identified local growing partners.
Says Davis, “I’m sure this will be of interest to local orchardists, as the yield characteristics are compelling and future revenues will be shared through an established international marketing network to ensure the realisation of a premium price”.
International grower networks for Nadia have already been established in North America, Europe and Asia. As these have grown, Northern Hemisphere buyers have become increasingly interested in sourcing ‘out of season’ fruit from the limited number of producers in Australia; potentially setting Green Planet up as a major exporter.
“Tasmania has one of the world’s last cherry seasons, which offers potential for marketing and supply advantages. This could ultimately become a project of significant scale; particularly given investment by State and Federal Governments and farmers in new irrigation schemes around the State, opening up a range of otherwise previously unsuitable regions for precisely this type of development”, said Davis.
“The Free Trade Agreements recently struck with South Korea, Japan and China have resulted in dramatic increases in Australian cherry exports as heavy tariffs have been dropped and we expect to be part of that exciting development”.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON NADIA
The number of stone fruit varieties available at fresh markets has been increasing as the demands of the horticultural industry and consumer preferences change. Important traits such as improved production yield, longer shelf life and more consistent fruit quality are highly sought after. This cherry plum hybrid was developed in Australia to meet these demands by naturally crossing cherries with plums and then selecting and growing lines with desirable characteristics. Nadia is not genetically modified.
Nadia exhibits the sensory and sight characteristics of the cherry, but has the size and supply chain robustness of the plum. According to Birchmore, “It tastes like a cherry. Nadia is effectively an oversized cherry and with more flesh compared to its pip size than a standard cherry. Its slightly thicker skin means it’s less prone to splitting during heavy rain and it also lasts longer in transit and on the shelf “.
Customers are also becoming more discerning and are selecting products with beneficial health properties. Much has been said recently about the Queen Garnet plum and its link to anti-obesity, but this is true of all fruits of the colour purple, that are naturally high in anthocyanin, which potentially offer this reported benefit. The same claims can therefore be equally said of Nadia; in that its juice similarly contains beneficial compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity attributes.
Jan Davis, former CEO of the Tasmanian Farmers & Graziers Association, Chief Executive Officer Green Planet Agriculture
