WHEN it comes to making a tree change, it would be difficult to make one more literally than John Stanley and his wife Linda.
About 10 years ago, the couple traded their lives in Kalamunda, in the Perth hills - where they overlooked eucalyptus trees - to move almost 300 kilometres away to Nannup and an outlook of sweet chestnut trees.
It wasn't a rash decision by any means, having spent about 18 months looking for an agricultural venture that met a certain set of parameters - be within three hours' drive of Perth, with mobile coverage, good water and a crop within the first year of a product that many Australians wouldn't necessarily be familiar with.
"It took quite some time, because we were looking for a unique, niche crop that we could add value to," Mr Stanley said.
"Eventually we settled on Chestnut Brae, one of the few chestnut farms in WA.
"The goal was to create a sustainable, organic, self-sufficient farm from which we could produce a range of value-added chestnut-based products."
The Stanleys are agricultural marketing consultants by trade and Mr Stanley was the first to admit they were not farmers and, therefore, the farming side of the business had been more challenging than promoting it.
Their picturesque, 28-hectare property is south of Nannup, in Carlotta, and has 9ha covered in the 1000 trees that make up the two sweet chestnut orchards.
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At 40-years-old, the trees are relatively young - as they generally produce a crop in their seventh year and then have a lifespan of about 1000 years.
And, when the annual harvest got underway earlier this month, the signs were looking good for a crop of about 15 tonnes - up on the 9t in 2022 and above the average 12t crop.
Mr Stanley attributed this to a summer period without any days over 40°C, which is ideal for the trees during their flowering time.
They also average more than 600 millimetres of winter rainfall, which means the trees receive adequate water without requiring irrigation.
Chestnut blight, the biggest disease risk to the crop, is not found in Western Australia, so kangaroos and parrots present the main problems to contend with.
The Stanleys have used their marketing nous to focus on promoting agri-tourism in WA and during the two month chestnut harvest, open up the property to the public to come and pick their own.
They also operate farm tours year-round.
"We want to show urban people where their food comes from," Mr Stanley said.
Picking time is quite a unique experience, because the chestnuts are picked not from the trees but from the ground.
They are not ripe until they have fallen from the tree.
The majority of them fall out of the spiky burr, but some have to be broken out of them - meaning a good pair of gloves is a necessity when collecting chestnuts.
When it comes to harvesting chestnuts for their commercial products, Mr Stanley said they used a Facma self-propelled harvester from Italy - one of only two in Australia.
A mob of Wiltshire sheep keeps the lawn "like a bowling green" under the trees to make harvest easier, as well as providing natural fertiliser for the accredited organic property.
Visitors to the orchard can see how the chestnuts are processed, firstly sorted into small, medium, standard, large 1 and large 2.
The small chestnuts are fed to the black heritage Wessex Saddleback free-range pigs, from which the couple produce their award-winning pork that is sold to white-tablecloth restaurants everywhere from Nannup to Perth - as well as being available on-farm.
They also have a commercial peeling machine, which they use for the medium chestnuts - half of which are dried and turned in to organic gluten-free chestnut flour, while the other half are frozen so they can be sold year-round.
Mr Stanley said they were developing a multitude of value-added products, such as mustards and chutneys.
Their chutney featured in this year's World-Wide Mustard Competition in Wisconsin, in the United States.
They also work with a cidery in nearby Bridgetown to develop liqueurs and ales.
The standard-sized chestnuts are sold in the shell to boutique restaurants to be roasted, while the large ones mostly end up in syrup.
"We are value-adding to about 70 per cent of the chestnuts on the property, but we hope to increase that to 90pc," Mr Stanley said.
This is certainly attainable, with the chestnut a very versatile nut with many health benefits, including being a good source of antioxidants and their consumption reportedly linked to lowering cholesterol.
Mr Stanley said chestnuts could be used in any part of a meal - made up of 60 per cent water, they could make great chestnut-based smoothies or be used in pumpkin and chestnut soup, served with pork, churned into ice cream or put on top of porridge.
He said the possibilities were endless.
The Stanley's top seller is their chestnut liqueur.
The high water content means that chestnuts have to be stored in a cool room once collected, where they can remain for up to six weeks before either being roasted, or the shell removed and the nut frozen.
Except for the COVID lockdowns, Mr Stanley said the business was exceptionally busy during the pandemic because travel was restricted to being within WA.
Now that the State and country had re-opened, he said the non-Australian market was starting to come back and he was bracing for a busy picking period.
"On our first weekend of picking, the majority of visitors were from overseas," Mr Stanley said.
"Although Perth consumers will balance that out over the Easter and school holiday period."
Entry to the orchard is $12 per adult, which includes the first kilogram of chestnuts, with each kilogram thereafter $12/kg. Children under 12 are free.
Chestnut Brae is open every day except Tuesday, although Mr Stanley said the majority of visitors tended to be from Friday to Sunday.
And the appeal of visiting the property isn't limited to the autumn picking season - the Stanleys welcome tourists all year round to experience life on Chestnut Brae Farm by booking one of their tours or to stay in the tranquil haven that is Chestnut Cottage Farmstay.
These form part of the couple's plan to focus in on agri-tourism, which Mr Stanley said was one of the fastest growing segments in agriculture globally.
"People want to escape the urban areas to go out into the country," he said.
"They want to know where their local food is coming from and they also want to hear the stories of where their food came from."
He said by having the three-bedroom farmstay, which could serve as a multi-family holiday or a couples' retreat, as well as the agri-tours of the farm and their stunning gardens - along with income from the chestnuts and value-added products - it allowed them to ensure a year-round income.
"Small farms can make a difference if they can add value," he said.
"There is a big future for small farms."
