SCIENTISTS Dean and Kate Baker left their professions in the United Kingdom to become apple farmers near Manjmup almost a decade ago.
It is a venture Ms Baker described as a steep learning curve, but the couple hasn't looked back.
And it was skills the Bakers gained as scientists which helped them grow a successful fresh fruit and pressed sparkling juice business, NewLeaf Orchard.
"There is a lot of science to farming, as well as luck," Ms Baker said.
"It is a bit of an art really.
"I think having a scientific background definitely helped when it came to researching the different aspects of how to grow certain produce, as well as analysing what had gone right and wrong.
"And then of course there is the juice processing side, where you have to work out how to put the process together - that requires a lot of research and science in ensuring you produce a safe and delicious product.
"I would say we are experts in what we do now."
The couple met in 2000 while studying the genetics of insects at the longest-running agricultural research institution in the world, England's Rothamsted Research centre.
The pair pursued different careers in science before deciding to turn their dream of owning a small farming operation in Western Australia into a reality.
In 2012, they snapped up a 40 hectare apple orchard in the South West, drawn to the region's climate and environmental influences.
"We came in with a very loose plan of 'we would like a farm and we would like to process some of the produce'," Ms Baker said.
"We researched farming regions in WA and decided Manjmup was the best area to grow, whatever fruit or vegetable it was that we decided on.
"This farm (NewLeaf Orchard) in Middlesex, was one of the very best places we found in terms of soil.
"We did keep quite an open mind, but this particular location caught our imagination."
One of the biggest challenges the Bakers faced in the early days was the fluctuating apple prices.
Ms Baker said as growers they were price takers as opposed to price setters.
She said because of this they decided to replant and completely change the orchard.
"We ended up removing our old apple trees, the traditional larger style trees, and replanting with trellised apple trees on dwarfing root stocks," Ms Baker said.
"We did this for various reasons including the fact they are high yielding and easier to pick and prune.
"We also replanted some of the new genetics because it is important to have red apples of a red variety and green apples of a green variety.
"Putting in the new varieties with the good genetics, you can guarantee your Pink Lady is going to be red and that really helps."
Apple harvest typically begins at the end of February for South West growers and one of the first varieties to be picked is the Royal Gala.
Harvest continues through until the end of May with Pink Lady being one of the latest fruits to be harvested.
Meanwhile, heritage apples are harvested throughout the entire year.
"We are still working out what needs to be harvested and when with the heritage varieties," Ms Baker said.
"Some are European varieties and there's not many people growing them in Australia, so we have to try and work out when is the perfect time to harvest them in our climate."
Apples are handpicked by both local pickers and backpackers.
Finding backpackers has been a challenge for NewLeaf Orchard, and for other business owners, due to COVID-19 restrictions and not being able to secure backpackers from overseas.
Ms Baker said she hoped they would have enough workers to pick their biggest crop, which is the Pink Lady and makes up about 30 to 40 per cent overall.
In terms of business development and diversity, the Bakers have planted about 40 different heritage variety apples including Cox's Orange Pippin, Egrement Russet, cider apples and quince.
While finding the varieties and the material to grow them has taken some time and effort, they have found some "interesting" flavours.
Ms Baker said they had been experimenting to figure out which varieties grew well in WA.
"We have some really different, nutty flavoured type apples, some that taste like aniseed when they are ripe," she said.
"There are a few that have russet, this kind of brown almost like sandpaper type skin on them.
"They don't look beautiful in the traditional way that we expect, but the flavour really makes up for it."
Ms Baker said the Cox's Orange Pippin, which is popular in the United Kingdom, was one of her favourite flavours at the moment.
She described it as a complex flavour, having a "sharp acidity with a sweetness to it".
Ms Baker said the apple itself was quite firm and dense with a mix of green and red colouring.
The heritage varieties have also helped NewLeaf Orchard expand its operation to produce sparkling single variety juices.
It was a hail storm and a gap in the market that gave the Bakers the inspiration to branch out into juicing six years ago.
"We felt like there was a bit of a gap in the market for a really good quality, non-alcoholic beverage," Ms Baker said.
"It was really early days for us and we didn't realise at the time how devastating hail can be for apples.
"It was October, our apples were very quite small and hard, and we thought they would be fine, even though the hail was coming through."
A week later the Bakers noticed hail damage on their fruit and more apples were thrown on the ground than they picked and put in the packing bin.
Ms Baker said it was heartbreaking, but it also made them think.
"What about this waste fruit?" she asked.
"Is there something we could do with this?
"Then came the idea of, well if we ever have waste fruit we can process it because it would be perfectly good for juicing."
As well as using their own fruit for juices, the orchard sources seconds strawberries and lemons from local growers.
They are now looking at producing a range of aged and blended ciders and are experimenting with flavours.
Heritage apples are being used in the experimental phase and Ms Baker said they were "tasting, ageing and trying different fruit" in the hope of releasing the cider next year.
"We have also produced cherry vinegar and apple cider vinegar," she said.
"We try to make sure nothing is wasted.
"When we make our apple juice, if there is leftover pulp then that goes to the cattle grazing the property and if we ever have any leftover juice that can be fermented to the cider, then the cider can be fermented to make apple cider vinegar.
"We are aiming to reduce the waste."
So, any plans to expand in the future?
"Beyond the cider, who knows?" Ms Baker said.
"I say no now, but that could change."
