Prune news Big changes paying off

Big changes paying off

FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR SOLAR DRYING PRUNES

The future of the Australian prune industry is looking positive, with young, enthusiastic growers like Ann Furner and husband Anthony Nehme leading the way with innovative drying techniques and developing value-adding opportunities.

“We didn’t plan to be prune farmers,” Ann said.

“I had returned to my hometown of Griffith in 2006 after about 10 years away studying and working. I was working for Yenda Producers Cooperative as a horticulturalist where I met Anthony.

“We enjoyed living in Griffith, but having both come from farming backgrounds, knew we wanted to live out of town. It just happened that in 2008, a small farm came on the market. It was in an ideal location, had a shed and a house and came with 5.6 hectares (14 acres) of prunes and 12 ha (30 acres) of wine grapes.”

The couple started with one tractor and a 2000L canopy sprayer and over time have changed the look of the whole farm.

The wine grapes were removed after several poor years and replaced with 13 ha of prunes.

In 2019, the original prune block was removed, and 12 solar tunnels installed.

Ann was introduced to the Swissdesigned solar drying technology at the 2015 International Prune Association Congress in Italy, and during the 2016 Chile IPA Congress visited a farm to see it in action. “I was the industry development officer at the time and was excited by the benefits that solar operations offered. Following the Chile congress I set up a small-scale trial on behalf of the Australian prune industry to see if the technology would work in Australian conditions,” she said.

“The findings were very promising so that’s when I put on my grower’s hat and started to investigate the possibility of installing the new technology on our farm.

“At that time, we were reliant on contractors to harvest and dry our fruit. This often meant our fruit was left right to the end of the season, so our fruit was past its optimum harvest quality and sometimes we would lose the majority of fruit on the ground before it could be harvested.

“As a result, Anthony and I were forced to make some big changes if we were to survive in the industry.”

They upscaled the initial trial and now have 12 tunnels, with plans to expand the drying space to 24 tunnels over the next two years,

In addition, by moving away from the reliance on unrenewable energy and using the energy of the sun to dry fruit, they have eliminated drying costs and have been able to reduce their carbon footprint.

“We are also able to control our harvest start date, so fruit is harvested at optimum maturity, without losses in yield,” Ann said.

“Furthermore, it might be a personal bias, but our fruit through the solar dryers tastes delicious. This is because they are dried for a longer period at lower temperatures which reduces the chance of the sugars caramelising.” Ann and Anthony use a very different technique from all other growers which has enabled them to differentiate themselves in the industry and offer a product that is both delicious and sustainably dried.

In November 2019 they launched their Naturally Dried Prunes products, which include whole and pitted prunes along with dark, milk or white chocolate coating.

“We worked for about eight months to get everything ready for the launch – developing packaging, logistics, storage facilities and label designs,” Ann said.

“We undertook several trials to get the chocolate coating right – the first batch was a total failure – and we used friends and family as our taste testers.

“We have also worked closely with David Swain from Angas Park to get our business off the ground. Angas Park has allowed us to deliver solar dried fruit to them. They keep this separate from our gas-dried fruit and they help with the rehydrating and pitting process.

“We have also worked closely with the team at the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory to perfect the art of chocolate coating prunes.”

Ann and Anthony began by selling their product at various farmer’s markets in the region.

“In December 2019 we attended our first market – the River and Wren Market in Wagga Wagga,” she said.

“We had no idea how much product to take, so we took heaps. We also brought a lot home at the end of the day, but we didn’t care because the people who tried our product loved it, and they bought it.”

They continue to attend local markets and have several wholesalers spread from Mildura through to Albury and as far north as Orange.

Ann has also developed her own website and social media platforms to support the brand and online sales of their prunes.

She is also a strong advocate for the industry and has recently embarked on her next venture hosting farm tours.

“I’m really looking forward to the next couple of years in the prune industry. It’s exciting that our new block of prunes is coming into full production and will really put our solar drying tunnels to the test,” Ann said.

“I believe the Australian prune industry has a great future. Prices are the highest I’ve seen; the next generation of growers are joining the executive team to bring some fresh ideas and the demand for dried fruit is high.

“It’s an exciting time and it would be wonderful to see some new growers join the industry with some new plantings.” v