Lettuce farmers paying the price for bad harvest too

Hapi and Cath Fiefia are in dire need of a successful lettuce harvest as months of consistent flooding and torrential rainfall continues to delay any crop growth.

While Sydneysiders are feeling sorry for themselves after forking out $10 for Iceberg Lettuce, spare a thought for farmers across the country who are struggling to make any revenue as sequences of natural disasters continue to ravage our produce growing regions.

Hapi and Cath Fiefia, operators of the Field to Feast Farm, are in dire need of a successful lettuce harvest as months of consistent flooding and torrential rainfall continues to delay any crop growth.

“It’s just so tough, you’re just standing there wanting to do something but you can’t,” Ms Fiefia said.

“There’s nothing we can do to make it happen faster, it’s just a case of needing the rain to stop, ground to dry, have enough dry time to actually prepare the beds and then plant and let the plants establish themselves.”

The Fiefia’s were forced to let go of farm staff and turn to farmers’ markets to keep afloat.

Farmer Hapi Fiefia with what is left of his lettuce crop after months of rain. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“We used to have five staff, but between the drought, Covid and flooding we lost them,” Ms Fiefa said.

“Having been through it before but not to this extent, we’ve learned that reselling a lot of our produce with whatever we can at the farmers’ markets is keeping us afloat and without that income, we’d have nothing.”

Mr Fiefia says selling what is left of his crop at farmers’ markets was his only source of income. Picture: Jonathan Ng

As our nation’s farmers continue to fight the elements, a sustainable seed merchant is inspiring Australians with an affordable and easy way of battling the lettuce shortage by simply growing their own.

Haylee and Daniel from D&H Seed Harvest Co from the Coal River Valley in Tasmania are helping shoppers across the country get their hands on the leafy green vegetable by selling a range of lettuce seed packets for only $1.50 each.

People can choose from 20 different varieties of lettuce, including baby lettuce, which will produce heads and leaves within a few weeks and grow at least 100 lettuces all year round.

“The price of Lettuce has seen the sale of lettuce seed packets increase dramatically. There is a general sense amongst customers that they’re tired of paying ridiculous prices for basic produce,” Hayley Tunks told The Daily Telegraph.

“We sell lots to regional areas of Australia, where fresh produce is harder to come by.

“Many lettuce varieties can be grown in simple pots, buckets or raised garden beds. We don’t need to have fancy gardens to grow amazingly fresh, homegrown produce.”

All lettuce seed varieties are grown by farmers in Australia and sold to D&H Seed Harvest Co for distribution in retail as ready-to-plant seed packets.

Originally published as Lettuce farmers paying the price for bad harvest too