Mount Canobolas, once a thriving hub for over 400 fruit growers, has seen a drastic decline in orchards with only 10 remaining on the mountain's slopes.
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This decline is partly attributed to the unequal power dynamics between supermarkets and farmers, which have forced orchardists to abandon the industry.
One farmer affected by those dynamics is Michael Cunial, a third-generation orchardist from Carinya Farms in Nashdale who said "he'll never grow an intensive crop again".
His story was featured on the ABC's Four Corners program, Super Power, which exposed the pricing tactics employed by supermarkets, forcing farmers into accepting unfairly low prices for their produce.
"We were getting dictated to by prices being set by the supermarkets," he said.
"And when you've got people falling over themselves to sell to supermarkets, you can't see much of a future in the industry."
Mount Canobolas has been a haven for orchardists since the late 1800s due to its fertile, volcanic soils, cool climate and relatively heavy rainfall.
Despite this, Mr Cunial said he "couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel" and predicts that only three of four orchards will remain in the next 10 years.
He highlighted that advancements in horticultural technology, such as training trees on trellis systems and enhancing irrigation methods, have significantly increased fruit production for orchardists.
Despite the increased yield, supermarkets are hesitant to handle large volumes of fruit due to associated additional costs.
"I'm sure the supermarkets have this happy price point where they're making great money off of not much fruit where it'd be good if they were making great money off a big volume of fruit.
"And they could pass some of those benefits back on to the growers and even the shoppers."
Fruits and vegetables have shifted from being essentials to "luxury items" for consumers and Mr Cunial critiques supermarkets for maintaining high price points, which, while profitable for them, adversely affect both growers and consumers alike.
"Fruit and vegetables are overpriced; they're a bit of a luxury item where they should be the cheapest thing in the shop."
An uncertain future
Mr Cunial said he is "one of the lucky ones" who escaped the industry debt-free, but that's not the case for many farmers who have had to sell or pick up another job.
"In the good old days, you'd only get in debt if you're buying a new property," he told The Central Western Daily.
"But now it's like everyone's in debt, which makes the need to sell to supermarkets even more desperate."
As the future for fruit cultivation in the region grows increasingly uncertain, there is little optimism for the next generation.
"Most orchardists around here are not encouraging their kids to get back into it because they can see it's not great future," he said.
Seeking alternative ventures
Mr Cunial once grew cherries, apples, pears, peaches and plums on his property, but now he's turning them into paddocks for cattle and working on his hail netting business.
"We don't want to sell, we love the area," he said.
"And cattle are hugely less intensive, back in our heyday growing all the crops we could have up to 100 plus people working for us, and now there's going to be two."
After Cunial's Four Corners interview many people have reached out offering advice to him. He said they have their heart in the right place, but he believes growing fruit and selling to supermarkets is no longer sustainable.
"If there was a golden egg, sort of thing, we would have tried it by now," he said.
"Since I've been interviewed, I've had phone calls and emails from people saying, why don't you do cherry jam?
"But we would have to over capitalize for all that equipment to make cherry jam to only sell back the supermarkets, so what have we achieved?
"We will never grow intensive crops again. That's for sure."
