CWA members spent several days hard at work turning apples from the Orange Agricultural Institute into a vast spread of home-made treats to help the DPI showcase its presence in the local community.

The OAI is home to more than 100 staff and more than 5000 fruit and nut trees.

DPI Deputy Director General of Infrastructure, Investment and Business Development, Brett Fifield, said OAI was a significant piece in the Department's research station network that stretches across the state.

"Our team at OAI works across a range of areas including orchard management, pests, weeds and diseases, cropping, climate... and importantly is an operational farm that regularly opens its doors to demonstrate the research to local primary producers," Mr Fifield said.

"We really are giving people a taste of our work with some help from the CWA who share our passion for rural and regional NSW."

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