A quality harvesting and cooling machine will allow a Lockyer Valley vegetable operation to produce quality lettuce more efficiently and create up to 24 full-time jobs.
Barden Farms managing director Andrew Drummond said the new equipment would enable the enterprise to harvest, bag and cool lettuce in the morning for export that night.
The new harvesting and cooling system will be used at Barden Farms’ Gatton site during winter, the Nobby site during summer and the Inglewood site during the remainder of the year, creating up to 24 full-time jobs.
The machine is expected to operate from next year.
Barden Farms Pty Ltd is one of 24 businesses approved for the fifth round of the competitive RED grants program, with a total funding of $3.9 million.
Managing director Andrew Drummond said:
“We envision the new equipment to be a one-stop harvesting aid, enabling us to grow, cool and pack quality lettuce more efficiently to each customer’s specifications,“ he said.
“The project will create up to 24 full-time jobs including farm labourers and harvest supervisors and it is also expected to create a range of indirect jobs in agronomy, freight and horticultural suppliers.
“The new labourers won’t need to be experienced farm workers, because the modern harvesting machine makes it simple to operate, grade and pack produce.”
Overall, the fifth round of the RED grants program is expected to create up to 215 direct, long-term jobs.
Grants are available for up to $200,000 with a 50 per cent cash contribution required from applicants to fund projects that generate economic and employment opportunities related to primary production value chains across rural and remote Queensland.
The Palaszczuk Government’s RED grants program has provided a total of $13.3 million in funding to support 59 successful regional agribusiness projects.
A sixth round of RED Grants, supporting Indigenous-owned agribusinesses and projects aimed at low-emissions agriculture, has been allocated for the 2023-24 financial year. Applications will open later this year.
