Lockyer Valley farmers cash in on new organic fund

ORGANIC farmers in the Lockyer Valley are the first Queensland beneficiaries of the Woolworths Organic Growth Fund.

Ag Minister Mark Furner, Australian organic Farmers founder Anthony Bauer, Woolworths assistant state director Peta Nutley and Heritage Bank CEO Peter Lock. Picture: Contributed

ORGANIC farmers in the Lockyer Valley are the first Queensland beneficiaries of the Woolworths Organic Growth Fund.

Woolworths, in partnership with Heritage Bank, has granted a $220,500 interest free loan to Australian Organic Farmers to support the installation of a humidity-controlled storage facility to improve the shelf life of organic sweet potatoes and onions grown in the region.

The facility will help cut food waste in the region and provide farmers with a larger storage capability, enabling them to grow more produce.

AOF founder Anthony Bauer, a fifth-generation farmer based in the Lockyer Valley in Queensland, said humidity was a real issue for organic founders.

"While the tropical weather in Queensland generally provides good growing conditions, the humidity in some months makes storing fresh produce difficult, and often results in a lot of wasted product, particularly with our sweet potatoes and onions," he said.

"With the support of the Woolworths Organic Growth Fund, we're now able to install a humidity-controlled storage facility that will prolong the shelf life of our sweet potatoes and onions by four to five weeks and enable us to work around weather events such as storms and heat waves.

"Ultimately, this will help ensure greater consistency of produce to consumers.

"It will also enable us to grow larger blocks and increase the supply of sweet potatoes and onions by 100 percent."

Woolworths Head of Produce Paul Turner said there had been a big uptake in demand for organic produce.

"We're seeing incredible growth in demand for organic fruit and vegetables, and the trend is only set to continue in the years ahead," he said.

"Through our Organic Growth Fund, we're delighted to be working with Australia's best organic farmers to build the capacity that will allow us to meet the growing demand for organic produce into the future.

"Australian Organic Farmers have been one of our trusted supply partners for more than 15 years, and we're excited to see what this new facility will unlock for their business and our mutual customers."

Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner welcomed the announcement.

"I commend Australian Organics for their infrastructure expansion, their ongoing development and continuing focus on consumer demands," he said.

Originally published as Lockyer Valley farmers cash in on new organic fund