Apple and Pear Australia Limited

Best known as the founder of Eagle Boys Pizza, Tom transformed a single pizza store in Albury into a network of more than 300 stores across Australia and New Zealand, earning a reputation as one of Australia’s leading retailers. His achievements extend well beyond business growth.

From boardrooms and government policy discussions to everyday business operations, AI is rapidly becoming one of the most talked-about technologies of our time. Yet many growers are still asking a simple question: what can AI actually do for my business? At the 2026 APAL Industry Forum, strategic foresight specialist Sami Makelainen will provide practical answers.

Held at Agriculture Victoria’s Tatura SmartFarm from 10–16 June, the intensive five-day program was delivered as part of the new Hort Innovation-funded Building capability program for emerging leaders (AP25001). Designed for emerging growers and those new to the industry, the course helped participants build a strong technical foundation, improve their understanding of common orchard tasks and develop capability in areas they may have had less exposure to throughout their careers.

According to Grocery Code mediators Trish Henry and Jenny Linsten, the Code is far more than a dispute resolution mechanism. It is a practical tool designed to support fair, transparent and productive relationships between suppliers and retailers. At the 2026 APAL Industry Forum, Trish and Jenny will present Working the Code – Confidence, Clarity and Conversations, a session focused on helping growers better understand how the Code can work for them.

• Alessio Scalisi, Eyaya G Bekele and Maddy Peavey Agriculture Victoria • 6 mins read Netting Key points Netting timing and colour affected fruit set and vegetative growth in young apples, with permanent grey netting showing the strongest impact. Unnetted trees had higher fruit set and fruitlet load, and grew slower than those under netting. To cover, or not to cover?

At the 2026 APAL Industry Forum, Elliot Jones, General Manager of WA Farm Direct, will share the journey behind one of Australia’s most exciting proprietary apple success stories and explore what comes next as the program enters a new phase of international expansion. His presentation, Bravo® & Soluna™: From Success to Scale – Building Australia’s Next Great Apple Program, will examine the key ingredients required to transform a promising variety into a globally recognised premium brand.

This year’s Research & Extension Provider of the Year, Dr Alessio Scalisi, is a senior research scientist at Agriculture Victoria’s Tatura SmartFarm, where he is developing smart tools to help pome fruit growers achieve the best yield and quality standards. After growing up in Sicily, Alessio was completing his PhD at the University of Palermo and looking for a way to squeeze an extra summer season into his research year.

Join us at APAL’s Future Orchards® Winter Series of orchard walks from 6–10 July 2026, which will focus on “Optimising chemical thinning – taking the guesswork out”. AgFirst Horticultural Consultants, Jack Wilson and Jonathan Brookes will lead the discussion on this topic and setting the scene for what is expected to be lively discussion and debate around winter/spring management and the opportunities that it presents for fruit quality and labour efficiency.

Published on June 3, 2026 One of the aims of both organic and integrated pest management is to minimise insecticide usage. A tool that is commonly used is to encourage insect predators and parasitoids by only spraying when pheromone traps indicate the pest is present above threshold levels. The problem is that both organic and predator friendly insecticides are only tested against a handful of beneficial species.

Published on June 3, 2026 Most employers are familiar with awards and enterprise agreements, but sitting underneath all of that is a quieter set of rules that apply to almost every employee in Australia: the National Employment Standards (NES). The NES are the minimum employment entitlements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. They form the legal safety net for employees and cannot be overridden even if an award, agreement or contract says otherwise.