Moonrocks: St George vegie growers boost bottom line
Want to transform a family farming business into a multimillion-dollar behemoth? Find out how.
WHEN it comes to farming, the Moons are certainly mixing it with the stars.
In the paddocks around St George in southwest Queensland, where the Balonne River cuts through an at-times harsh landscapeas it winds its way south, Andrew and David Moon have transformed their family horticulture business into a multimillion-dollar behemoth with a strategy centred on determination, collaboration and innovation.
The brothers are fifth-generation farmers and are passionate about the horticulture industry. Onions are the main game – accounting for about 60 per cent of production – with garlic, pumpkin, broccoli and sweet corn also in the mix. When land and water allowsfor it, cotton is grown as an opportunity crop.
The Moons have been farming at St George since 1979 when the brothers’ parents, Jeff and Pam, relocated the family from the Lockyer Valley and switched from growing vegetables to cotton.
But due to the fickle nature of water availability in the region they soon returned to their horticulture roots, initially dabbling in rockmelons before varieties changed, which caused the fruit to lose their shelf life “and no one knew what itwas anymore … was it a melon or a cucumber or a rock?”.
“The rockmelon market took a dive basically after that and we just went ‘It’s not for us’,” Andrew says.
Luckily, a few years earlier, the Moons had diversified into onions, so they ramped up their efforts. The rest, they say,is history.
Their Moonrocks business now operates across 526 hectares, supplying supermarkets nationally and employs up to 120 workersduring peak harvest periods. For their efforts developing new markets during Covid, the brothers were recently recognisedwith the prestigious Grower of the Year title at the Ausveg Hort Connections national awards in Brisbane.
A LITTLE HARSH
ST GEORGE has become a significant irrigation community in recent decades and is now home to a variety of pursuits includingwinegrapes, tablegrapes as well as the more traditional cotton and vegetables.
“Over time I think there will be a bit more horticulture move into the area,” Andrew says. “We have a unique environment – our soil is good, water is really good. We are really unique to the rest of the market because what happens on the coast weatherwisedoesn’t necessarily happen here.
“That gives us a bit of an advantage at times, but saying that there are a lot of challenges – weather conditions are a bitharsher than at the coast.”
Onions are planted from seeds from late April or early May, and the Moons aim to have everything in the ground by mid-June.Harvest starts at the end of September and runs until early December. Garlic is grown in a similar time frame with the growingseason for pumpkin about three to four months. For onions, the Moons bank on average yields of 60 tonnes/ha.
Rotations vary – the Moons aim for garlic and onions to be grown on the same country once every three years. In addition tothe other crops, multi-species cover crops involving the likes of triticale, buckwheat, vetch and radish are grown to improvesoil biology. The bulk of the country is made up of grey clay loam soils or sand.
“We are really working hard on our soil health,” David says. “That is the most valuable asset we’ve got, and it’s definitelya finite asset – we have only got what we’ve got.”
LABOUR PAINS
MOST crops are irrigated by trickle tape. Sweet corn is grown on a mixture of flood irrigation and trickle tape while anythinggrown on more sandy country is watered by overhead lateral irrigation.
About 30 per cent of crops are harvested by machine with garlic and pumpkin all hand harvested. Moonrocks employs 40-50 workersyear round but numbers swell as high as 150 at harvest.
The Moons say the relative humidity of St George is generally much lower than most other growing areas in Queensland, whichallows them to cure onions at a faster rate. They say that leads to better quality skins, resulting in a longer shelf life.
To reduce wastage, in 2012 the Moons formed a stand-alone company, Fresh Peel Pty Ltd, to produce peeled onions, using state-of-the-artmachinery imported from Europe. During Covid they released the G’Day Garlic range of garlic powders, which are sold throughtheir website. They hope to expand on this in the coming years.
Meanwhile, Andrew and David say major challenges include rising costs, competition from imports and the “diabolical” issueof securing farm labour.
MORE
Picture gallery: All the action from Farmer of the Year awards
The best and brightest in Australian agriculture were crowned at The Weekly Times Coles 2023 Farmer of the Year awards. See all the pictures.
2023 Farmer of the Year winners revealed
Australia’s best farmers in beef, cropping, dairy, horticulture, sheep and innovation have been announced. See all the winners, including the overall Farmer of the Year.