The Story of Forest Lodge Orchard
Wanting to escape the city life of Sydney, Mike and Rebecca moved home to New Zealand and found the perfect spot in Central Otago. A gorgeous property 10 minutes from Cromwell with nine hectares of land and a lovely home for their family.
We love cherries and wanted to grow them sustainably, but we knew starting an orchard was a big job. Mike called school-friend Euan who joined the adventure as orchard manager, alongside his wife Rachel as co-owners. Electrification was never the plan, but it economically made sense. We started swapping out diesel for electric wherever we could, and before we knew it, we became fully electric in 2021.
Our cherry orchard runs on lots of cool tech, including inverters that let us sell power back to the grid. We are proud to be 100% electric and use innovative methods such as a 2D tree training system for our trees which is called UFO growing.
We’re not just here to grow great cherries — we’re here to prove sustainable farming is possible, and to share our fruit (and our story) with Kiwis who care where their food comes from.
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Why did we choose this life?
Mike and Rebecca break down how they got into cherry farming, why they chose to call Cromwell their home, and how they ended up growing Electric Cherries.

A couple of mates
When Mike bought the the land and decided to plant the cherry trees, he new that this would be a big project and would need some help with the project.
Mike picked up the phone to his school friend Euan, "What do you know about growing cherries?", he asked. "Nothing!" he replied. So of course he was the obvious choice to make him his business partner and orchard manager.
After seeking the support of local consultants they set about planting out the 9,300 trees on the orchard. After a lot of learning they are now leaders in electric farming in the world.

Getting you your cherries
Rebecca and Rachel keep the ship sailing smoothly at Forest Lodge Orchard. Running the accounts, organising events, managing orders and deliveries.
When they're not busy at the orchard or in the office, they are super-mums of the Electric Cherry family. They're spending time with their kids, whether it's playing outside, helping with school stuff, or hanging out on the orchard.
Our History
Forest Lodge Founded
Golf Cart Purchased
Electric Frost Fans
Nets Installed
STIHL Partnership
Tractor Delivery
Electric Foilage Sprayer Completed
New Batteries Commisioned
Electric Hilux Conversion Almost Complete
Ground Broken
Solar Installed
Electric Mower
Southern Lens Profile
NZ0 Certification
Monarch Open Day
Commercial Harvest
Electric Cherry Brand Launched
5,700 Trees Planted
Kootenay Trees Planted
Exporting Power
Rainier Planted
First Export Crop
Country Calendar
Partnering with Panasonic & Think Solar: New Solar Array
Electric Cherry Juice
Discover updates from the team about everything farm life.