The cherry on top for Cherrycot

A GIANT cherry statue named Kevin has brought an extra touch of charm to Cherrycot Orchard at Campania. 

The cherry and apricot orchard is off to a flying start in 2025 and has become a must-see for visitors and locals. 

Orchard owner Tony Depasquale said their new “big cherry,” Kevin, was a nod to other iconic roadside attractions like the Big Banana or the Big Pineapple. 

The statue came from an old cherry farm in Kyabram, Victoria, and after some restoration work, it now sits in a prime position, greeting visitors to the farm. 

“Kevin has already become quite an attraction,” Mr Depasquale said. 

“We’re thinking about finding him a girlfriend next year and maybe adding a few more cherry trees around him, maybe even some lights.” 

Cherrycot’s recent success is thanks to Mr Depasquale, a second-generation farmer from Victoria, and Cherrrycot’s farm manager Mark Foulsham who have led the team through another successful harvest. 

Spanning 160 hectares, the farm has long been known for its high-quality apricots and cherries. 

Mr Depasquale purchased the farm eight years ago when it was still an apricot operation, and since then, he’s expanded into cherries as well. 

“I started out wanting just 16 ha, and now here we are with 160 ha of apricots and cherries,” he said. 

Kevin the cherry isn’t the only new addition to the farm this summer, Cherrycot has just opened a new pop-up tore in Lindisfarne, bringing fresh fruit straight from the farm to the city. 

“If the pop-up shop goes well, we might be able to set up more pop-ups around the state,” Mr Depasquale said. 

Another upgrade for this season is their new state-of-the-art Maf Roda cherry grader. Replacing an outdated system, Mr Depasquale said the new technology enhances efficiency and is a great bit of technology. 

Today, the orchard produces about 250 tonnes of cherries and 400 tonnes of apricots each year, catering to both local consumers and supermarkets like Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi. 

“They are only young cherries so our goal in the future is to pick 1000-1500 tonnes a year.” 

Mr Depasquale said that all of the apricots were supplied to Tasmania and stayed in the state whereas the cherries were also exported to the mainland where he also has another two farms. 

Cherrycot grows cherry varieties like Lappin, Bing, and Stella which thrive under the conditions in Tasmania and extend the cherry season from the mainland, providing more opportunities for market growth. 

In summer months Cherrycot have anywhere from 60 to 80 pickers helping out, many that are lodged on their on-farm accommodation in Campania. 

“Accomodation has been a big challenge for us, it was hard finding pickers because of how much it costs for workers to stay, so in the end we invested nearly $400,000 on building that accommodation.” 

The unpredictable weather, including a hailstorm just before Christmas, impacted cherry yields and caused damage to some of the skins meaning they were a write-off. 

“Like everyone in Tas we got about a 20 per cent split due to the rain and hail.” 

“Considering everything it could have been worse; it wasn’t a complete wipe-off.” 

“It’s a challenge, but it’s part of the job,” he said. 

Looking ahead, Mr Depasquale is focused on enjoying how the farm is doing and increasing cherry production.