Glenelg River Herbs: Watt powers herbs into new territory

INNOVATION WINNER 2018: ROSEMARY grower Anita Watt will celebrate 20 years of business next year, and the experienced producer is unlikely to run out of energy any time soon.

Herbal remedy: Anita Watt in a rosemary plot at her Balmoral-based Glenelg River Herbs farm. Picture: Dannika Bonser

ROSEMARY grower Anita Watt will celebrate 20 years of business next year, and the experienced producer is unlikely to run out of energy any time soon.

Forward thinking is one of her many strong attributes.

“I’m always looking for something new and different,” says Anita, who runs Glenelg River Herbs at Balmoral in Victoria.

It is one of the largest rosemary operations in Australia, producing an impressive 35 tonnes of herbs a year, with 20 hectares under crop across four properties — three in western Victoria and one in South Australia.

Rosemary is the main crop, with 140,000 plants. The business has cornered the market on fresh rosemary, supplying supermarkets, and diffused risk with an own-brand range of dried herbs and by supplying food service customers.

Sage, thyme, lemon thyme and bay trees are also part of the Glenelg River Herbs empire, with Anita spearheading diversity with trials of oregano and stevia — a popular natural sweetener.

But Anita hasn’t stopped with traditional herb products. She recently started distilling essential oil, then took the idea to the next level with a unique roll-on product called The Memory Stick, which is diluted rosemary essential oil marketed as a herbal memory aid.

Perhaps one of Anita’s wisest business moves was partnering with her friend Christina Hindhaugh 20 years ago to kick off the farm in the first place.

Christina was a Churchill Fellow with expertise in broadacre herb growing and an Order of Australia Medal recipient. Together, the women turned a small entrepreneurial idea into a big agricultural opportunity.

Previously a special-education teacher, Anita drafted the business plan, while Christina shared her herb-growing knowledge. They secured funding, appointed a board of directors and set off with a clear aim to produce large quantities of niche, high-value herbs.

Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer in about 2005 and lost her battle with the illness in 2015, but Anita never thought about giving up on the farm.

“Christina and I would always celebrate everything,” Anita says. “So, when I got the oil distiller and made The Memory Stick, my first thought was, we would have opened a champagne right now.”

Another glass of bubbly is in order for Anita, whose dedication and business acumen make her a worthy winner of The Weekly Times Coles 2018 Farm Magazine Innovative Farmer of the Year.

WINNER Farm Magazine Innovative Farmer of the Year 2018

GLENELG RIVER HERBS, Anita Watt, Balmoral, VIC

FARM MAGAZINE: GLENELG RIVER HERBS