Collins Bros Orchard

3 THREE Brothers, Dean, Murray and Tom Collins.

History

This story goes back in time to 1906 BY NARDIA STACY EXECUTIVE MANAGER, when Paddy Collins bought the original homestead property. Since then, five POMEWEST generations have lived on the farm,

Collins Bros Orchard is with four generations currently calling the farm home. The oldest resident is a multi-generational Tom Collins, 94, who the last remaining family business that child of Paddy. The youngest is Murray’s youngest son Jacob, who is only six is dedicated to producing months old. premium apples. When Paddy first purchased the property, he made the decision to plant apples. This family is passionate about the Once his sons Bill, Jack and Tom came Western Australian apple industry, of age, they took over the farm becoming feel privileged to be in the known as “Collins Brothers’. Kevin, best growing region in son of Tom, then took over the the country, and consider themselves fortunate to call Collins Siding, Pemberton, home. The idyllic location The Collins Bros Orchard is the largest permanent netted orchard in thestate. business and bought out the other family members. Today, the name ‘Collins Bros’ still rings true, as again there are three Collins brothers, (Murray, Tom, Dean) of this family-owned managing the farm. Dad, farm reflects the family’s Kevin, is now largely out narrative of producing a standard of excellence in of the orchard and oversees the family’s cattle herds. Murray, the Managing Director, is focused on the their crops. orchard and business development. It is that level of professionalism that sees each piece of fruit carefully nurtured, so when it leaves the packshed, it takes with it the family’s reputation. The reward is seeing the public actively seek out their products for quality. This story is about the Tom oversees the packing shed and has led their recent diversification into avocados, while Dean is involved in day-to-day orchard management. The operations are supported by four other permanent staff and a number of casuals throughout the season. essence of family, and working to a It's pretty remarkable to think that the value proposition of a truly genuine Collins farm is still one and the same Western Australian brand. that the current three brother’s great grandfather, Paddy farmed over 100 years ago. It’s also interesting for them to reflect on how much orcharding has changed in those hundred years and yet on the flip side, how some aspects have hardly changed at all.

Lessons learned along the way

As Albert Einstein said ‘In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity’. Orcharding is not always rosy! After a very bad season, to which they suffered a near total loss of fruit from hail, they diversified the business and took to share-farming potatoes and harvested the farm’s blue-gum plantings. This was done to pursue the opportunity to mitigate future risk in the form of installing permanent hail netting. The next year, another hailstorm came along and again destroyed over 80 per cent of fruit outside of the net. Less than 20 per cent of fruit under netting was damaged, which immediately demonstrated the immense benefits of netting with permanent structures. Since then, this risk management strategy has been the focus of the family business model. Although initially, a large financial outlay, netting the orchard has brought many benefits. Most importantly, they have the comfort of knowing that they can consistently grow a high-quality product and have supply security to expand the farm and apple orchard as opportunities present. Murray believes that they now have the largest permanent netted orchard in the state.

The brothers spend a lot of time researching new varieties and growing techniques.

PHOTOS © VICTORIA BAKER

Managing COVID-19

Hazards to the business are always cropping up, but this current global pandemic is an unprecedented situation, which is worrying for everyone. The brothers’ view is that WA is a very fortunate place to be growing fruit and so far, they have been largely unaffected. Last season they managed the harvest with the work force that remained in the area.

However, with the cessation of international travel there will definitely be an impact to the seasonal workforce and a new risk to manage. With operations requiring a 50-person picking crew for 2021 and numerous other casual staff during the year, it is going to be difficult to find a workforce locally. This will be the next big challenge for the business.

Succession planning and implementing innovation

Many multi-generational farms can struggle with the passing on of the guard. The current brothers made the decision to return to the farm at different stages and each have contributed to the growth of the business in different ways. Kevin has always supported each son’s passion and ideas to grow and develop the orchard and has slowly taken a step back while still offering guidance and is always ready to lend an ear when the brothers look towards future decisions. He has found it extremely rewarding to work alongside each of his children and watch the business grow and diversify in the hands of his sons. The brothers spend a lot of time researching new varieties and growing techniques to make sure the business remains innovative and relevant in the constantly evolving agricultural landscape. One such move in recent years has been the increased planting

of club style varieties as they offer stable pricing and risk reduction in years of over-supply. They now grow, Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Kanzi ® , Jazz ® , Ambrosia ® , Envy ® and Bravo™ apples. Murray’s favourite apple to grow is the original WA success story — the Pink Lady, however his favourite to eat is the Envy ® branded apple. He says, “the best part of growing is seeing how sound management of your business and orchard can achieve better fruit quality and crop yields”. Now with orcharding firmly in the blood line the family wouldn’t do anything else. Paddy must be proud of the dynasty he started. One thing that is for sure, is that Collins Bros Orchards will remain growing beautiful apples, leaving a living legacy for the next generations.