John was appointed by the APAL Board as an additional director with special skills. John has gained specific knowledge of the apple and pear industry through his chairmanship of the Australian Fresh Fruit Company (AFFCO) - a major network of large and progressive fruit growers which jointly undertakes marketing (e.g. exports to Europe & Asia) and research. He has extensive business and financial management expertise gained through senior appointments with Bonlac Foods, Bonland Dairies, Tesselaar Bulbs & Flowers and through his term as Managing Director at the Australian Wheat Board (AWB), from 1990 to 1997. Prior to this, John held a number of senior management positions with Griffin Holdings Pty Ltd, Sydney - an enterprise having operations in Australia, North America, Europe and the South Pacific.
Jon has extensive experience across the pome fruit industry gained through his ongoing involvement in his family orchards since 1967 and his roles in industry organisations - as President of the regional Orchardists and Fruit Coolstores Association, the state industry body, the Victorian Apple and Pear Growers Council and the national body, the Australian Apple and Pear Growers Association (AAPGA). From July 1996 through to August 2002 Jon was the Chief Executive Officer of AAPGA and then became the Managing Director of Apple & Pear Australia Limited when it was established in 2002.
During his time as CEO and Managing Director of the peak industry body, Jon managed the fire blight issue and has lead the international development of the Pink Lady ™ apple business, both strategically and operationally.
In January 2008 Jon became General Manager of the Intellectual Property Division of APAL. This Division is charged with managing the Pink Lady� business but also with providing fee-for-service consulting related to the commercialisation of plant varieties.
An APAL restructure in November 2010 saw Jon return Managing Director responsible for all of APAL's activities on behalf of the Australian apple and pear industry.
Scott Price has been employed by Calvert Bros. for 33 years and currently manages their 'Rookwood' property, in the Huon Valley. He developed the apple orchard at 'Rookwood' from a green-field site in 1984 and has been instrumental in planting new varieties and moving to high density plantings.
Scott gained an Associate Diploma of Business in Agriculture in 1990. He held the position of the inaugural president of the 'Young Tasmanian Fruit Growers' Association' (YTFGA), from 1993-4 and was awarded the 'Silver Apple', in 2001. This was awarded for demonstrating interest and motivation in the future development of the Tasmania Apple Industry. He was a board member of APFIP from 2001-6 and chairman of the Tasmanian Quality Fruit Group from 1997-99. In 1997 he was a member of the Apple Research Advisory Committee.
He was a board member of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania from 1998-2006, followed by 2 years as vice-commodore. Scott still plays an active role in coaching and promoting sailing at both elite and junior levels.
Phil has had many years experience in corporate marketing, having worked as a brand and marketing manager for seven years for Pacific Dunlop Food Group Ltd and Nestle Dairy Products managing Australian brands such as Four'n Twenty, Peters Ice Cream and Vitari.
He has extensive experience in the grocery retail sector, having worked for two of the top 10 national supermarket suppliers. He recently presented the marketing and promotional plans for the Pear Industry to both Coles and Woolworths. His family background is in horticulture and he recently created and currently manages Turnbull Orchards Fresh Fruit Exports. He also once operated an internet fruit delivery business from the Melbourne markets for two years.
Ugo operates an orchard near Stanthorpe, in the Granite Belt of south-east Queensland, in partnership with his brother.
They were leaders in using hail netting to protect the fruit in the late 1980s and when they expanded their operation by purchasing an adjoining property in 1990, they started on a path of closer plantings and trialing new varieties. During the 1990s they modernised all their original orchards. More recently they have planted fruit trees at high density. Ugo is responsible for marketing their fruit crop, which is via direct supply to Coles supermarkets.
In 2001, Ugo formed a consortium of growers to buy the local commercial cold store facility and had it modernised.
Ugo has held grower and industry positions from the early 1980s. He has been Queensland representative on the national apple and pear grower organisations since 1998 and he has been on the Fireblight Task Force since its inception.
Kevin is a third-generation orchardist, who with two brothers and his father, grows 42 hectares of apples in Victoria's Yarra Valley. They grow five varieties of apples and pack and cool store their own fruit. Since 1999, all new plantings on the Sander's orchard have been at densities at or greater than 2700 trees a hectare, such that now, 45 per cent of the orchard is intensively planted. They also operate a nursery to supply all their own trees. Rootstock is purchased off-farm. Kevin is active in the Victorian apple industry as a member of the Yarra Valley Fruit Group and he was a member of the Victorian Apple and Pear Growers Council.
Jason has worked on the family farm since completing a Horticulture Management Dipoloma at Lincoln Univerity in New Zealand in 1993. In partnership with his parents, he upgraded their fruit grader to start a small contract packing business, 'Twin Apple Packhouse' and in 1994, packed Pink Lady™ and Sundowner™ apples for export to Germany and in subsequent years, expanded the export destinations to UK, Europe and Taiwan for up to five different exporters in a season.
In 2006, the last year Jason handled Pink Lady™ for ecport, they packed 24 40 foot containers for exports to the UK market.
The packing operation also handled summerfruits, tomatoes and avocadoes for export, local or eastern markets.
With the decline in exporting of apples from WA, Jason decided to investigate the option of gaining organic certification for their 15 hectare apple orchard. He was awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 2008 to investigate this change.
Jason has served on the WA apple and pear council and was vice chair from 2004 to 2007 and chairman 2007/08.
Michael Stafford manages his family horticultural business, Stafford Orchards at Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills. He has an advanced Diploma in Horticulture and Rural Business Management and has had training in fire control and state emergency services rescue.
Michael has wide experience in many aspects of horticulture as a director of a horticultural consulting business, a member of the Lenswood Co-op marketing scheme and a director of a juice and cider business. He was also the chairman of APFIP from 2003 to 2008 and now chairman of the APFIP technical committee.
He has been secretary of the SA pome fruit improvement committee since 1977.
Michael has been on overseas study tours to Europe and North America and attended the 2000 IFTA conference in New Zealand.
Greg Mouat is a second generation orchardist at Batlow, NSW, with 10 hectares of orchard on a block that his father purchased in 1926.
Greg started the process of transferring his plantings to dwarf root stock in 1997 and two years later started planting at high densities of 2500 trees a hectare. He grows Red Delicious, Fuji, Pink Lady, Sundowner, Buckeye Gala and Kanzi varieties.
Greg says Batlow is a classic cool climate apple growing region that avoids the extreme summer conditions of most other Australian apple growing areas.
Being a relatively small grower, Greg has always preferred to concentrate on growing good apples and let the Batlow Fruit Cooperative market his fruit. He said the Batlow Co-op has developed a very good brand reputation which has supported reasonable prices and a range of important services for growers.
Greg is deputy chair of the Batlow Co-op.
Scott had been involved in the apple and pear industry in an official capacity for 18 years. From early beginnings in the Melbourne wholesale market he has experience in varying positions including orchard practises, packing, distribution, marketing and export of apples and pears across all regions of Australia.
Scott's current role as Business Manager of Sales and Procurement for Montague Fresh both domestically and internationally gives him a wide understanding of the requirements of domestic and international markets and their supply chains alike.
Scott has had previous experience as a director of AFFCO and is currently a director of Pink Lady Australia Limited, International Pome Fruit Alliance and the Montague Group of Companies.
Scott has completed a number of short management courses, including the Mt Eliza Business School produce executive program.
