Are you interested in growing apples for cider?

Camilla Humphries pictured above and below

 Are you an apple grower who is interested in diversifying and growing interesting cider fruit varieties?

Cider fruit can provide returns of more than twice that of commodity juicing fruit. Read report by Churchill Fellow 2020 Camilla Humphries about ‘How to grow the craft cider industry in Australia and develop the grow-for-juice sector.

Camilla Humphries is an advocate for the Australian Horticultural industry and believes that there is a need to improve efficiencies of production to improve returns for the benefit of growers and minimize waste. She is also involved in volunteer work to build research capabilities and capacity for early to mid- career researchers and form partnerships with developing Asian countries for Agricultural Research for International Development initiatives. 

Camilla’s 10 year career as an Agricultural Scientist has spanned across field research, agronomy, advisory for the Apple and Pear Industry and evaluating agricultural products to improve production efficiencies. Camilla is an Agricultural Scientist, cider maker, researcher and is currently working as an agricultural consultant and studying a PhD at the University of Melbourne where she is investigating how to grow plants for space to sustain astronauts on extended missions to the Moon and Mars.

As a 2020 Churchill Fellow her project investigated cider markets, production and orchard systems in the UK, France, Spain, United States and New Zealand with the aim to grow the fruit for juice sector. Her research helped to identify how to increase economic returns to apple producers, promote provenance and increase the value of cider fruit, improve competition against foreign imports of juice concentrate, and reduce waste of unmarketable fruit through creating opportunities for value adding fruit for cider production.

Camilla is a committee member of the Churchill Fellows Association Victoria, Cider Australia and her local Agricultural Show Society in Red Hill where she is a founding member of the Red Hill Cider Show.

Camilla holds a Bachelor and Master’s degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Melbourne.