Alandale Orchards Limited, owned by Neil and John McCliskie farms on the western side of the Waimea Plains in Nelson.

Varieties grown are:
Royal Gala 42%
Eve™ (Mariri Red) 28%
Braeburn 17%
Pink Lady™ 6%
Granny Smith 4%
New Zealand Rose 2%
New Varieties 0.5%
Pears 0.5%.

Annual production is around 4000 tonnes, of which 2/3 is exported and the balance supports committed customer programmes in New Zealand. Alandale Orchards are fully GlobalGap accredited and Neil is a shareholder of Compass Fruit which is fully BRC (British Retailers Consortium) accredited.

David Easton is a passionate 3rd generation apple grower. He and his wife Maryanne have grown the business from a small 6 ha apple orchard on the Moutere hills area to today’s orchard of 60 hectares, with the biggest orchard situated in the heart of the Waimea plains. Current production is around 150000 cartons for various world markets.

In 1990 David found two red apples growing on a Braeburn branch, on their orchard on the Moutere Hills area in Nelson. From this original branch all the Mariri Red have been produced, with the majority marketed as eve™. Its natural characteristics and the focus on correct production by the Heartland grower group have enabled eve™ to be a stand out consumer product.

Varieties grown are:
Eve™ (Mariri Red) 43%
Royal Gala 31%
Braeburn 7%
Pink Lady™ 6%
Tentation™ 6%
Cox Orange Pippin 4%
Fuji 2%
New Varieties 1%.

There is an ongoing new variety trial programme on the orchard which has in the past seen trials of the following varieties: Pinova, Honeycrisp, Starlady, Moonglo, Divine and Adore.  Currently the trial includes a couple of disease-resistant varieties that are yet to be named.  Recently they completed the planting of Ambrosia™ and Smitten™.  Easton Apples has 4 hectares of Pink Lady™ in organic production and this year will harvest 700 bins of organic-certified Pink Lady™.

Easton Apples Ltd. are fully GlobalGap accredited. David is a shareholder in Compass Fruit which is fully BRC (British Retailers Consortium) accredited.

Mahau Orchard is a modern and progressive family orchard situated
on the Waimea Plains.

Mahau has 36 ha planted in apples and pears with the following varieties:
Royal Gala 34%
Braeburn 22%
Eve™ (Mariri Red) 15%
Pink Lady™ 8%
Tentation™ 5%
Cox Orange Pippin 5%
New Zealand Rose 4%
New Zealand Beauty 3%
Taylors Gold and Doyenne du Comice 3%
New Varieties 1%.

Over the past few seasons Mahau Orchard has restuctured over 50% of its production into dwark rootstock.  They have also planted a large volume of Ambrosia™ and Smitten™. Their aim is to produce a unique apple experience for the consumer. Mahau Orchard is GlobalGap accredited.

Vailima Orchard Limited is a privately owned business managed by Richard and Susan Hoddy. Richard is a 3rd generation orchardist. They have two sons, Tristram, (who has a Diploma in Horticulture Management) and is concentrating on orchard development; and Matthew, with a Bachelor of Commerce (Horticulture) from Lincoln University. Richard and Sue own three properties on the Waimea Plains (76ha) and lease an additional 20ha. All are GlobalGap accredited.

Current production is 6,500 tonnes with the potential to exceed 18,500 tonnes when the planned development matures over the next four years.

Varieties grown:
Royal Gala 41%
Tentation™ 11%
Pink Lady™ 10%
Eve™ (Mariri Red) 9%
Cox Orange Pippin 9%
Braeburn 8%
New Zealand Beauty 5%
Asian Pears 3%
New Varieties 3%
Granny Smith 1%.

Over half of the property is on dwarfing rootstocks planted intensively over 2000 trees / ha. The remaining orchard is MM106 single leader semi-intensive.  Vailima Orchard have an extensive programme of trialing new varieties including Golden Gala, MN1914, and OPAL.  Ambrosia™ and Smitten™ will contribute to a large portion of Vailima production over the next few years once recent plantings reach full maturity.

Vailima Orchard is a shareholder in Compass Fruit.

Currently three other fully Globalgap accredited growers supply part, or their entire crop to Heartland via Compass Packhouse. The combined total area for these growers is approx 70 ha in a range of key varieties including, Cox Orange Pippin, Royal Gala, Eve^TM, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Comice and Taylor’s Gold.