Our Committee Members

Meet our Chairman and seven other committee members who represent each industry. Our committee members each want to achieve great long-term outcomes for growers in Western Australia.

Chairman – Ben Darbyshire

Ben spent the first 10 years of his life in Balingup on an orchard established by his father. Ben’s formal agricultural education was at the University of Western Australia and the University of Tasmania where he worked on physiological and pathological aspects of apple trees.

He then worked in New South Wales with CSIRO as a Principal Research Scientist in the Division of Irrigation Research on a range of plant related projects. He later returned to UWA where he continued aspects of his plant work while caring for students and teaching science and its communication. During this time Ben feels he was exposed to corporate governance issues and this was extended to the Perth Convention Bureau where he was a Director and Consultative Director for 10 years.

Ben and his wife Geraldine bought their Newlands property in Donnybrook in 1990 and planted their 10-hectare orchard from that date. Ben says the environmental, production, marketing and social issues presented by growing are enormous challenges.

Among other organisations Ben is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the Australian Institute of Agriculture Science and Technology.

Bevan Eatts

Bevan Eatts owns a 680-acre farm West of Manjimup where he has been farming for 23 years. For the past 13 years this has included a 13-acre stone fruit orchard.

Bevan hopes that Fruit West will become a committee able to advise Government Departments on making important decisions that will ultimately affect grower’s livelihoods.

He also believes there is a need to educate the public better on how lucky they are to have fresh fruit on their doorstep and that ‘Buying West’ really is ‘Eating Best’.

Bevan hopes that growers see Fruit West as an opportunity to become involved and shape their Industry and that people take up that opportunity.

Geoffrey (Geoff) Fawcett

Geoff Fawcett has been growing Citrus in Serpentine since 1986 when he took over the family farm from his father.

Geoff has been actively involved with various citrus industry committees and other voluntary community groups all of his life.

Geoff says he is on the Fruit West Committee to see a smooth transition into a better industry organisation for the benefit of growers before his retirement.

Harvey Giblett

Harvey Giblett is Owner and Managing Director of Newton Brothers Orchards in Manjimup.  A passionate and innovative fruit grower with over 40 years’ industry experience, Harvey started his career as an orchard hand in 1965, eventually becoming sole owner-operator of NBO in 2000.  In the past decade, Harvey’s drive to succeed has transformed the small family business to a corporate enterprise that is known for applying the latest innovative technologies in production methods, cool storage, grading, and packing fruit.  He attributes much of the business’ success to date on the popularity of the WA-developed Pink Lady.

Over the years, Harvey has made a long standing contribution to the sustainability and growth of the Australian apple industry.  He currently Chairs the WA Apple Leadership Group and has held key positions for numerous industry-related bodies; including WA delegate Australian Apple & Pear Growers Association for 12 years, Chairman of WA Apple & Pear Growers Association for three years, WA Grower representative on the Perth Market Authority Board for six years and Vice President for WA Fruit Growers Association for three years.

Mario Casotti

As a third generation grower, packer and marketer of apple, pear and stone fruit for Karragullen Cool Store, Mario Casotti has become a Fruit West committee member because he wants to help resolve the many issues and challenges facing growers.  He is particularly passionate about seeing that Apple Scab area freedom is reinstated.

Shane Kay

Shane has a citrus business in Bindoon where he packs citrus from their own orchard (Neila Citrus) as well as packing for other growers in the area.

Shane has been involved in the industry since 1990 and from that time was a committee member of the WAFGA Citrus Council.  During this time, the committee assisted with the successful introduction of the Citrus IDO project, Citrus Quality Assurance, the development of the ‘blue sticker’ campaign for citrus, the change to millimetre sizes for packing and the introduction of the WA citrus fruit maturity code.

Shane has also been a committee member of the WA Citrus Improvement Group for some time was well as supporting them with many field days and on-farm trails at Niela Citrus.  He is currently Chairman of the recently formed – Citrus Leadership Group.

Shane has a keen interest in the services Fruit West can provide to promote a prosperous industry with substantial growth potential.

 Terry Martella

Terry Martella joined his father and brother on the family farm in 1990 after having worked away for 10 years.

The family owns a mixed orchard approximately 20 kilometres south of Donnybrook that is 31 hectares in size with 23 hectares of Pome fruit and eight hectares of stone fruit.

Terry agreed to join the Fruit West Committee after being approached to do so as he hopes that Fruit West can provide an efficient, transparent vehicle for all growers to become more united. He hopes that through Fruit West growers will become more united with a strong and consistent voice during times of change and challenges.

Sue Middleton

Sue was recently awarded Western Australian Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation’s 2010 ‘Rural Woman of the Year Award’. This award honours stand out female achievers who are passionate about developing primary industries and rural communities.

For 12 years Sue, with her husband Michael, have run a broadacre farm with an annual cropping program of wheat, barley, lupins, canola and pork production enterprise. Sue is also developing a Citrus orchard in Moora.

Sue is on the Fruit West Committee to achieve progress and growth for the citrus industry and to facilitate good relationships across the supply chain in horticulture.

Bruce Wharton

Bruce and his wife Jenny have been in the horticulture business for just over 20 years. Bruce moved into Horticulture after 29 years in the electronic engineering profession within the aviation industry.

After a sea change and move to Bindoon Bruce and Jenny began to grow primarily citrus with dry harvest currants, peaches, plums, apricots and nectarines being secondary commodities. Their farm ‘Apricot Acres’ is situated five kilometres north of Bindoon on the Brockman River.

Bruce has been committed to various industry organisations including the past eight years where he has acted as Chair of the Australian Dried Fruits Association. Bruce is also a committee member of the Western Australian Fruit Growers Association, the APC and the Western Australian Citrus Improvement Group (WACIG).

As a member on the Fruit West Committee Bruce hopes to be part of the team that oversees the efficient provision of services to fee paying members that will ultimately provide all growers with long term profitable sustainability.