Leeton

How did you come to be a grower?
My Grandfather came from Wales in 1926 and worked for his brother when he first arrived in Australia. The moment he had earned enough money, he went out to buy his own farm, built what we have today, passed it onto my father who had left school around the age of 12 or 13 to be on the farm full time – and the rest was history. It’s been in the family for nearly 100 years now, so it’s just ingrained in us. I’ve always wanted to be a farmer, and just grew up into the lifestyle. I remember I would have football practice on Sunday’s, once that was done, I’d take a shower, hop into the juice truck and would help deliver juice to country NSW. 

What did you grow when you first started?
Citrus for Leeton Citrus Juices and peaches and pears for Letona Cannery

What makes you passionate to be an Australian grower?
I’m my own boss….. my wife said I could be. 

Plus it’s pretty rewarding to know that we as a family business can control the destiny of the fruit instead of someone else, and know that we would only produce high quality oranges that gets distributed to juice drinkers. I hope they feel reassured that this is Australian grown, and that speaks volume for the kind of quality people are getting. 

We have a young growers’ program – what advice would you give the next generation of growers?
Take the good with the bad.

Because there WILL be bad days, and lots of it. But the good days are always worth it. It’s so much about the attitude you choose and how you want to spend your time as a grower. There’s a lot we can control, but there’s also a lot more we can’t control. When you learn to take the good with the bad, it at least ensures you get through the tough times, and with each time, you get a bit better at it. It’s not an easy job. It’s hardly a job than it is a lifestyle, so do it for the right reason and you should be ok. 

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?
Continually try to improve cultural practices to cut down costs and work to improve return with new innovations. This is as much a business as anything else. Yes there’s lot of hard work and genuine dedication for this industry to succeed, but the business end of it is equally important. It’s not only about what you’re good at growing or what you want to grow, it’s about supplying a produce that the consumer wants.