I congratulate Houston’s Farms on 25 years of innovation and success in agriculture.
Houston’s is an incredible Tasmanian success story that has inspired so many farmers across Tasmania and Australia.
The Hodgman Liberal Government values Tasmanian farmers like the Houston family, and that’s why we’re investing in agriculture.
We understand that a strong agriculture sector will strengthen our regional communities and create hundreds of new jobs on farms and in our country towns.
Since moving to the Coal River Valley in 1972 the Houston family has created a nationally recognised brand that is synonymous with fresh and premium produce.
They have rolled up their sleeves to build a thriving business that has adapted to a changing market, pioneering the production of the first fresh cut, ready-to-eat salad products in Australia.
There’s no doubt that they have also been a shining example of what can be achieved with access to reliable water through irrigation across Tasmania.
When the Craigbourne Dam opened in 1989 and the irrigation pipeline passed through their property, the access to reliable water was the catalyst for trying new products and they found success in lettuces.
Now, Houston’s has farms at Cambridge, Richmond, Campania and Forcett, they have a packing and processing plant at Cambridge and a second in Brisbane and their products are on the shelves of major supermarkets throughout Australia and independent grocers too.
Just like Houston’s has grown with innovation and hard work, we are committed to ensuring the Tasmanian industry as a whole has the same support.
That’s why have invested $30 million in the Tranche 2 irrigation schemes, we are investing almost $3 million in research and development and we are strengthening our ties with China, which has an incredible hunger for our fresh, safe and premium produce.
We believe we can grow the annual farm-gate value of production in the state tenfold to $10 billion by 2050.
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