Tasmanian Saffron takes home top gong in 2017 Farmer of the Year awards

THE Noonan family of Tasmanian Saffron at Glaziers Bay were named The Weekly Times Coles FARM Magazine Innovative Farmer of the Year at a ceremony in Melbourne last month.

Innovative outlook: Nicky Noonan of Tasmanian Saffron with crocus bulbs.

The Noonan family of Tasmanian Saffron saffron farm at Glaziers Bay were named The Weekly Times’ Coles F ARMMagazine Innovative Farmer of the Year at an awards ceremony in Melbourne last month.

“We’re really quite excited and feeling a bit special,” Nicky said. “It is a bit different, what we do, and to be recognised is just wonderful. And, for the saffron industry to be recognised in this way has made us very proud.”

Nicky and Terry have devoted the past 30 years to establishing the saffron industry in Australia. Today, with help from their son Patrick, the family produces 3-4kg of the tiny scarlet crocus threads a year, nearly half of the national saffron harvest. The Noonans are the go-to authorities on growing crocus in this country.

In addition to pioneering the industry, the tree-changers have created unique saffron products including saffron gin, honeycomb and Turkish delight flavours as well as soaps and candles.

Last month, the couple and a team of about 10 workers replanted thousands of bulbs in a fresh paddock. The labour-intensive replanting happens once every four years to allow soil to rest.

This year’s crocus flowers will bloom this month and picking will begin about March 25.

The painstaking harvest includes extracting millions of threads from the purple blooms. The Noonans produce the highest quality saffron by handpicking and using no chemicals on the crop.

The family was one of three finalists in the FARM Magazine Innovative Farmer of the Year category. The other short-listed producers were Anthea Brown, of Macabee Estate at Toodyay in Western Australia and Doug and Carolyn May of Captains Creek Organic Wines, a vineyard and mixed enterprise in central Victoria.

Read about all of The Weekly Times’ Coles Farmer of the Year winners online.