Zunker’s swap sugar cane for sweet potato success

FOSSICKING for gold nuggets in the foothills of an extinct volcano has proved a sweet move for former sugarcane farmers Darren and Linda Zunker.

Top crop: Darren Zunker of Windhum Farms aims to grow top-shelf sweet potatoes. Picture: Paul Beutel

FOSSICKING for gold nuggets in the foothills of an extinct volcano has proved a sweet move for former sugarcane farmers Darren and Linda Zunker.

The couple, from Bundaberg in Queensland, swapped cane for sweet potatoes more than 20 years ago — and have not looked back.

Through innovation and determination, they have built their Windhum Farms business to a point where it now supplies more than 100 pallets of sweet potatoes a week to all of Australia’s major vegetable wholesale markets.

The family grows product year round, employs five full-time workers, as well as casuals and backpackers, and in recent years has diversified into other cash crops.

Sweet potatoes remain the main staple, with the Zunkers having a clear focus on premium Bundaberg gold and hummock road varieties. They say their farm’s rich volcanic soils, combined with the fresh clean sea air and mild climate, make it one of the best places in the world to grow the vegetable.

The Zunkers employ state-of-the-art farming practices with variable-rate spreading technology and efficient irrigation methods, and give their paddocks an 18-month break between sweet potato crops to aid soil health. Not content with all their eggs in the one basket, they recently added some sweet corn to the mix and identified an opportunity to grow watermelons. About a year ago, the couple also expanded into macadamia nut production, with about 80 hectares planted.

“We looked into macadamia nuts based on the potential for robotics to make it a very effective horticultural crop,” Darren says. “That really appealed to me. We plant everything with GPS so we could easily incorporate robotics.”

This bodes well for future generations with Linda and Darren’s two sons, Ethan, 24, and Daniel, 21, keen to take over the reins.

“We will monitor the business … but we will gradually let the boys come in and set a standard like we did,” Darren says.

Positioning the business on a firm — and exciting — footing for the future.

FINALIST Horticulture Farmer of the Year

WINDHUM FARMS, Darren and Linda Zunker, Bundaberg, Qld

ON FARM: DARREN AND LINDA ZUNKER