16 | Forest Lodge Orchard looks to the future Karen Phelps Forest Lodge Orchard has launched a new retail brand and certification called New Zealand Zero and it hopes other farmers will eventually come on board. Developed in conjunction with AsureQuality, the certification was a way to formalise all the hard work the orchard had done to become fossil fuel free, giving consumers confidence when buying its product, says director of Forest Lodge Orchard Mike Casey. “We wanted to sell our cherries under a brand that was verifiable so consumers understood and trusted what we were doing. It can be confusing for people wanting to do the right thing in the climate space with all the green washing going on. New Zealand Zero is creating a new food category, food that is grown with zero fossil fuels, and demonstrating real behavioural change in the way food is grown,” he says. This year Forest Lodge Orchard offered its cherries, which are usually destined for the export market, to the New Zealand public who wanted to support zero fossil fuel farming, through the New Zealand Zero brand. Around 10% of product was snapped up locally and Forest Lodge Orchard is hoping to build on that next season, as the fruit from additional orchard hectares planted will be producing fruit ready for market. With eight tonnes of cherries harvested this season next year it is expected that 30-40 tonnes will be produced. The rest of Forest Lodge Orchard’s cherries this season were sold internationally via the New Zealand Zero brand and as consumers become educated about the new offering Mike hopes to build a premium market. The orchard achieved around a 15% premium on New Zealand Zero cherries sold domestically. “What we’ve found is that New Zealand Zero opened the door and got us a lot of new customers. Anyone who ordered through us, we took the fruit off the export line and sent it to them direct to door. We want to show the world we can electrify and create the best product as well and we found people were blown away by the quality and came back time and time again.” But Forest Lodge Orchard’s aim is bigger and Mike hopes for other food producers to become New Zealand Zero certified. “We’re trying to create the on ramp so they can drive down this fossil fuel free highway without too much difficulty. There are huge capital costs associated with electrifying that farmers have to overcome. To open their wallet they need higher gate returns and good a customer base. New Zealand Zero can help facilitate this.” Mike and wife Rebecca returned from Australia in 2019 after selling a start-up tech company. They purchased their 9ha orchard at Mt Pisa, on the outskirts of Wanaka and replaced the HORTICULTURE » Forest Lodge Orchard m: 03 445 0572 e: solar@infiniteenergy.co.nz www.infiniteenergy.co.nz 44CMcNulty Road, Cromwell, Central Otago SEANZ Sunshine. It’s critical to all production in Horticulture & Agriculture. Put the sunshine towork & harvest free energy from the sun. Infinite Energy design and install bespoke electrical solutions using leading solar power and battery technologies. Enquire with our expert team about electrification & energy trading to realise the full potential of the sun. diesel system with one using electricity. In the next step of its journey, Forest Lodge Orchard is about to import New Zealand’s first commercial electric tractor, which may be available for lease to other farmers to help them start making the move towards electrification. “We’ve had over 1000 farmers come to visit our orchard in the past year. Everyone is super inquisitive but no one has taken the leap of actually doing it yet but I think a few producers are almost ready to take that step.” Mike hopes for other food producers to become New Zealand Zero certified. ( Photos by - Miles Holden ) “We’ve had over 1000 farmers come to visit our orchard in the past year.”
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