Leeton

How did you come to be a grower?
I was brought up on the farm and actually started my farming duties pretty early on in life. I remember during high school that the farming work would come before my school assignments. That’s just the way it had to be. After finishing year 12 I went straight to work full time on the farm and was managing the packing shed by the time I was 24.

What makes you proud/passionate to be an Australian grower?
The quality of the produce we provide and being involved in an industry that puts that glass of orange juice out to the Australian public. There are fewer and fewer farmers these days – we are a dying breed! So I’m pretty proud that three generations later, we are still keeping our orchards alive through diversifying our offer through new orange varieties.

We have a young growers’ program – what advice would you give the next generation of growers?
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your farm to gain its maximum potential. 

Do you work the growing business on your own, or do you work with the family? What role do they play? 
I work together with my father and grandfather. I bounce between different responsibilities from looking after the sales of fruit and managing the packing shed to working together with my father on the farm. We help each other out and make a great team!

People often think all fruits are created the same, but in reality, quality is hard to produce, can you tell us the hard work that goes behind the cultivation?
To gain maximum quality, firstly you need the experience. We have had this farm in the family for 54 years now. From learning plant nutrition to having the right soil types all impact the quality of the fruit we produce. One thing that gets a lot of farmers is not spending enough money looking after the trees. We cannot produce our yields without working closely with our horticulturalists to keep the trees healthy and productive. You need to purchase the stock from a good grower. There are too many backyard stock growers that don’t have a good bud line!

The most important thing to do is devote yourself entirely to the farm. I think many people struggle with this one. We work 7 days a week trying to keep up with watering, pruning, picking, weeding and farm maintenance. Farming isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle.