Wandin Silvan Field Day’s modern take on horticulture

Wandin Silvan Field Days has evolved with the horticulture industry, bringing best practice and cutting-edge technology to local Yarra Valley growers.

Front runner: Orchardist Garry Byrne was a committee member of the first Wandin Silvan Field Days.

APPLE grower Garry Byrne has evolved his own orchards over five decades, in step with the latest technology on show at Wandin Silvan Field Days.

A member of the original field days committee who worked with John Anker to launch the event, Garry said the equipment on show had always been a good measure of the latest in machinery and horticulture best practice.

“Just at the moment, I’m sitting in a unique sort of tractor,” Garry said. “Instead of having tyres, it has four tracks. It is light on the ground with a low impact on the soil. So it is an amazing tractor, for traction and it treads softly.

“I was able to see that at the field days and finish up buying one. It is hill-safe and fairly narrow.”

The Antonio Carraro machine is designed for narrow orchard or vineyard rows.

Garry, 76, said farm safety was another area that had advanced and was always a focus at Wandin Silvan.

“I started off spraying with only a rain hat on my head, or a respirator if it was deemed dangerous,” he said, laughing. “Then eventually we had cabin tractors with air conditioners and filtration systems, so I always tried to keep up with safety.”

In addition to the safest equipment, the field days offers growers a chance to find out about compliance from WorkSafe Victoria.

Garry grows apples across three properties at Wandin, Seville and Hoddles Creek, supplying the wholesale market at Epping.

He said he was proud of his involvement and the field days’ community support.

“It has been a good thing for the district that it has survived all this time,” he said. “I think it has been quite a wonderful thing to be involved with really.”

The Wandin Silvan Field Days Committee has donated funds to local fire brigades, the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail bridges, the Mont Delancy Museum, the Mooroolbark Community House, local ambulances and to developments on the Wandin East Recreation ground.