Leeton

What’s the best part about being a grower?
There’s no one reason, I just love what I do. I get to work in the family, who have been in the business for over 25 years, work my own lifestyle and be my own boss. I remember at 5 years of age, I was already on the farm, trying to help my dad out wherever I can after school 

It’s knowing that our farming practice help put that fresh glass of juice on the table every day so that the public can enjoy Australian freshly grown citrus – that makes working in this industry so meaningful. It’s home grown fruits that are as real as they come. Us growers take a lot of pride in what we make – it represents ourselves, our worth ethics, resilience and how we treat the farm. It’s part of our livelihoods so much so that sometimes the farm comes first. 

Why do you grow citrus
The main reason we grow citrus is largely due to the fact that this has been passed on through generations, it’s “The Family trade”. It becomes a passion and a personal challenge as you’re pushing yourself year in and out, trying to provide bigger yields along with better quality, always trying to achieve better results and continuing to top those results. These goals are not only self-rewarding but it ensures that every year everything has been done to get the best quality fruits out to the consumer. It’s motivating and it’s my passion. 

Are you hoping to pass on the farm to your kids or grandkids?
I’m 29 and recently married my beautiful wife Patricia, so no kids yet! I think there are many things to consider and it’s hard to guess at this stage, but my stance on this is, we will continue to try to keep the family involved for as long as the industry can have us.

What has been your proudest achievement in your farming career?
I believe the pride of our achievements is an ongoing emotion, as we are very proud of what we can achieve and what we do on a daily basis on our property as a family owned Australian business. We are proud to contribute to the citrus industry, and proud to support it and take great pride in our farming practice.

Can you tell us the hard work that goes behind the cultivation?
As fruit is created from a living tree, it’s not a man-made object. The cultivation behind achieving quality is about the communication with plant and fruit. Therefore collecting information on a regular basis from what the plant symptoms can give visually and scientifically, then relaying that information back to irrigation schedules, pest management and fertilizing injections practices, in following hard laborious jobs are followed out to deliver quality, from manual pruning of each individual tree to the hand harvest of each individual piece of fruit.
Ultimately, citrus farming needs to be nurtured from any illnesses to fertilizer supply from the day of plant to achieve the highest quality in fruit the plant can offer.