A retired dentist has found an unexpected use for his old dental drill, developing an inexpensive packing solution that has helped a Queensland mulberry farm reduce fruit damage and make harvesting more efficient.

Peter Lynch and his wife, Karen, established the Kureelpa Mulberry Company in 2016 after noticing that fresh mulberries were difficult to find in Australian supermarkets. Although neither had professional horticultural experience, the couple began growing the fruit from cuttings taken from a single mulberry tree they had at home.

Their orchard has since expanded to approximately 1,500 trees in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. However, turning the fruit into a commercially viable product presented a significant challenge: mulberries are delicate and can be easily bruised during harvesting, handling and transportation.

Initially, workers carefully picked the fruit into buckets and carried it to a packing shed, where it was transferred into retail punnets. This extra handling increased labour requirements and caused the berries to become bruised or release juice, reducing the quality of the final product.

Mr Lynch addressed the problem by purchasing inexpensive plastic storage baskets and modifying them with his former dental drill. The redesigned baskets can hold two stacks of fruit punnets and be secured around a worker’s waist with a strap. This allows pickers to place the berries directly into their final packaging while harvesting.

The straightforward adjustment eliminates an unnecessary transfer between containers and helps workers keep both hands available during picking. According to the couple, the change has reduced fruit damage by around 80 per cent and cut labour costs.

The improvement has also helped the business invest in a cold room for its packing shed, supporting better handling and storage of the harvested crop.

Mulberries remain a relatively specialised commercial fruit in Australia. Their harvest season at the couple’s orchard lasts only about four weeks, generally during September and October. The short season means growers must collect fruit quickly and consistently while it is ripe, making efficient harvesting and access to workers particularly important.

The couple supplies local fruit shops and markets, with customers in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne among the buyers. The farm receives wholesale prices of approximately $4 to $5 for a 230-gram punnet.

Beyond the packing challenge, the growers are concerned about finding enough seasonal workers. They fear changes to Australia’s working holiday maker visa arrangements could make recruitment more difficult, particularly because harvesting requires workers to pick fruit every day throughout the short season.

The experience of the Kureelpa Mulberry Company demonstrates how a low-cost practical invention can help a small agricultural business reduce waste, improve productivity and protect fragile produce. It also highlights the importance of reliable seasonal labour for Australian fruit growers.