A fruit and vegetable farm near Bowen will receive a $400,000 grant to install cutting-edge technology, which is expected to increase productivity by up to 20 per cent and create 15 new jobs.
Family business Rocky Ponds will use funding from the Coles Nurture Fund to build a state-of-the-art nursery, install energy-efficient motors, and fully computerise irrigation and fertigation systems on the farm from seedling through to plant maturity.
As part of this, electronic probes in the soil will monitor soil health and send information back to a mobile device, which will mean the farm can be controlled from anywhere in the world.
Rocky Ponds owners Des and Paula Chapman said the technology would allow the family business to increase its yield, while reducing electricity and water costs by around 30pc.
“We’ll be able to control specifications like water and fertiliser to an exact measure to maximise output. By giving the plant the right nutrients, we can better control the size and sweetness of the fruit,” Mr Chapman said.
“We have already installed computer technology in some paddocks and this project will allow us to upgrade some of the existing technology and computerise the rest of the farm,” he said.
“When all the systems are working together, that’s when we will create real efficiencies.
Construction of the new nursery will commence in early 2017 and include an automatic overhead track irrigation system, computerised fertiliser injection system, grow lights, fully enclosed temperature control and a water recycling program.
The planting machine will have a computer eye to allow precision dropping of water and fertiliser for faster plant growth.
For over 35 years, Des and Paula have been farming at Gumlu, where they grow and pack rockmelons, honeydew melons, piel de sapo melons, capsicums and pumpkin.
Rocky Ponds employs up to 70 staff at peak times and with the construction of the new nursery, a further 15 jobs will be created.
Des and Paula are first-generation farmers who started Rocky Ponds when they married 39 years ago. Since then, their sons Evan and Shaun have also joined the family business.