Our Story
The Fankhauser family has been growing apples in Australia for approximately 140 years. We are currently situated in Drouin in West Gippsland, Victoria and have been growing apples from that location for over 40 years.
The owners Liz and Glynn Fankhauser, are 4th generation orchardists and with their son Brad as 5th generation General Manager and Director. His wife Darlene is the Office Manager and Brad's sister Lauren (5th Generation) working in the orchard and packing the shed.
Recently, Brad and Darlene's two oldest children; Jacob and Isabelle are now also working full time as 6th Generation apple growers!
Growth & Technology
We grow around 2000 tons of apples each year and were one of the first farms to invest in and erect hail netting in Victoria. We grow approx, nine different varieties of apples starting with Gala (including our very own 'Alvina Gala®') that are harvested mid to late February, followed by Jonathon, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Granny Smith, Bravo™, Pink Lady and Yello® finishing harvest in late May. We also grow Jazz® under license for Montague Fresh. Fankhauser Apples are leaders in the use and testing of farming Technology. We have our own weather station, have imported two harvest platforms from Italy during Covid to enable us to increase labour efficiency and quality of produce during the harvest period as well as reducing the need for heavy bags and ladders so it is better for OH&S and in addition the harvest platforms transform to standard platforms for pruning and thinning, further increasing labour efficiency. We are supporters of Monash University in their research, inventing and testing of a harvest robot over the past few years, in the hope it may be a breakthrough for the Horticultural industry, where labour is increasingly costly and more difficult to find due to Covid and other pressures. We have been involved with the Seasonal Workers program for over 4 years and host Vanuatu workers here for 9 months of the year. Fankhauser Apples has also invested in solar panels to cover the Coolstore roof, ensuring that we are very close to being self-sufficient in electricity consumption on the orchard, whilst also helping the planet by reducing our carbon emission footprint. (Don't forget the tens of thousands of trees we have planted, to also assist in reducing carbon emissions!) In 2012 our orchard was featured in an Aussie Apple Television Commercial which also featured the three generations (Glynn, Brad and Brads youngest son Oliver in the ad.) The whole ad was shot right here in our Drouin orchard and can be viewed on our home page. In 2015 Brad won the APAL (Apple and Pear Australia Limited) Grower of the year award held on the Gold Coast. This prestigious award is only given out to Growers who have made a real contribution to the industry and are leaders in their field in Australia. Both Glynn and Brad have been heavily involved in the Apple and Pear industry, being on the board of multiple organisations for many years.
Our Process
The growing of apples is a very labour intensive business that has four main seasonal jobs.
During winter, the apple trees are pruned and shaped to try and get the highest possible yields.
Over spring, new trees are planted and the older trees are thinned. This process requires the excess fruit to be removed by hand in order to leave the best apples on the tree to achieve the correct size and quality.
Summer time requires a constant approach to watering the trees with an often limited amount of water. The trees are monitored every day, and watered only the amount that is needed.
During autumn, the fruit is harvested. At this stage we can employ up to an additional 20 - 30 casual staff depending on the seasonal requirements. The apple trees then start to lose their leaves and head into dormancy for winter.