Oscar Ernest Hansen started growing pears at Highcroft near Nubeena in 1920; his grand son, Scott Hansen, runs the same orchard today, and Scott’s son Thomas has come home after his studies to work on the farm – which one day he will inherit – too. During the pear season, Scott, Liina and Thomas employ...
South-African born Dr Johann Joubert was working as a counsellor and pastor in the North West region of Tasmania in the late 1990s when he began to see a sharp increase unemployment, depression and suicide. With the Van Leerdam family he and his family decided to do something positive about it, and set up a...
Paul & Maria moved to Tasmania a few years ago on a hunch that they would be able to grow avocados just as well here as they did back in their home state of Western Australia. After proving their convictions correct, they decided to enjoy retirement and sold the orchard to Brad, who hails from...
Southern Fields’ major crop is lettuce; Ben & Amy, with a diverse workforce of around twenty, grow over two million lettuce per year, supplying all the whole lettuce for Woolworths in Tasmania. They also grow cauliflower (around 300,000 each season) in the colder months, a strategy which reduces pest problems, as most insects that enjoy...
Peter & Lisa made the decision to diversify into egg production at the Burnie property owned by Lisa’s parents five years ago, seeing a gap in the market for quality ethically produced eggs; prior to this their primary output was vegetables grown for local markets. Peter worked in a battery egg farm in a previous...
The Brandsema family have a long history of involvement in agriculture in Tasmania – Marcus and Anthony’s grandfather started a market garden in Launceston 60 years ago; the farm moved to Turners Beach, right next to the north coast, and when the brothers took over the farm in 2007 they began transitioning the site into...
Founded almost 60 years ago by the Ertler family, Premium Fresh are one of the largest vegetable growers in Tasmania, employing 140-220 people plus contracting farmers and land to meet fluctuating demand, and are a major supplier of Coles and Woolworths. Their biggest crops are onions and carrots; their Forth facility, built on the site...