Neil Handasyde
We chatted last with Neil just over 12 months ago where we discovered that a striving and successful strawberry farm was on its way into the world of organic produce. Twelve months on and we are pleased to say that this is taking place and exciting developments are on the way. In part 2 we wanted to know more about Neil the person. How he came into strawberry farming, why organics and just how he finds time to give back to the community.
Why strawberry farming?
Fruit growing was something I grew up around, with mum and dad growing apples in Victoria before moving to WA. When my parents moved over to WA they wanted to grow something that was expensive for its weight because the costs of freight and the time it took were a much larger cost of production. In 1991 I started growing strawberries on my farm and in 2006 Lyn and I started into the organic certification pathway.
How has the industry and the technology around it changed in the 26 years you have been growing strawberries?
When I first started growing we had 1 plot in production which would take us most of the season to pick from. We now have 10 plots in production each year. Our pickers in the 90’s used to be bored housewives and a lot of locals who would come each year. This has changed. As it is very hard to find Australian workers willing to do the work, a large number of my workforce are backpackers on working visas. The picking itself has also become a lot easier with vast improvements to the fruit and genetics, making for a much bigger and more consistent fruit allowing for easier packing.
You are no longer just in the business of growing fruit though are you? Business today is complex and demands multi skilling. What have you had to learn along the way?
I have had to develop knowledge and skills around marketing, supply chain management and HR management. I have learnt that I need to have very good and honest relationships with my suppliers, distributors and customers and to always listen to honest customer feedback. HR management is also one of the areas I have had to learn a lot about. The changes to the working visa were a nightmare for us to deal with and I had to learn a lot about employment regulations and develop industry awareness. I have always tried to be connected with the industry bodies and regulators. This gives me access to some very informed people and excellent advice. It’s strange, but I find they are usually very keen to help you out.
Looking back, what is your major regret?
I would have more confidence in myself to scale up faster and make machinery investments earlier. I would have also gone down the path of organics at an earlier stage. Organics has given us the ability to produce a much better quality product. It has helped remove us from the input pressures and price fluctuations that we experience with our higher volume commercial strawberries.
I am aware that you are also a very active volunteer. What are you involved in and how to do you find time to fit it around running a very busy business?
I have always been involved in representing the industry which has had a twofold benefit to it. Firstly you are giving back to the industry and helping it foster in a way that you believe in. Secondly it allows you to develop relationships and networks with people who can help in your business. I have also recently joined the King River Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade which is a group of very active and enthusiastic people. My kids asked me, “why would I volunteer for these sorts of things and what I would get out of it?” They are not alone, this is something that has come into the mindset of people these days. I strongly believe we can help the change by stepping up ourselves. Set an example.
Finally, your biggest volunteering effort to date must be the Strawberry Jam festival that you were involved in for 5 years. Tell me about that and what you learnt from the experience?
Strawberry jam was a one day music concert held on our farm, which attracted over 1000 people. It hosted many international musicians and bands and was a way to challenge people’s mindset that there was another way to have fun without the need for alcohol. We had international bands such as POD, Switchfoot and KJ-52. International acts had many challenges because you had to deal with their managers instead of them directly. I always had a variety of personalities and attitudes to juggle and work with. This has helped me in my business dealings though. When I deal with the large supermarket chains I am not necessarily dealing with the local person in store, usually someone in head office who may not have ever stepped onto a strawberry farm before. The main thing I took away from the experience was that when you volunteer to do something you commit 100% and follow through on your word.
Visit
For more information on Handasydes please visit:
Web www.handasydestrawberries.com.au
And keep up to date with their progress around the farm on the ‘Handasydes’ facebook page
