Value-added potato products help family farm meet consumer demand and local jobs

Wickham Family Farms has been operating for 60 years with sites at Killarney, Warwick, Gatton and the Atherton Tablelands but changing consumer demand means Director Kerri-Ann Lamb has had to adapt their business to suit changing market trends.

A new project is designed to broaden the market for Queensland potatoes, delivering to wholesale, quick service restaurants and food manufacturing companies an easy option, by having pre-cooked and chilled potato products.

Wickham Farms Killarney was one of 15 businesses to receive a co-contribution grant of up to $250,0000 under Round Three of the Rural Economic Development (RED) Grant program administered by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA).

The Pasteurised Potato Line project will utilise the existing advanced production line allowing Wickham Farms to provide a versatile cooking application, developing new products that have consistent quality, easy preparation, longer shelf life, and more suitable for food service and also to be exported, both interstate and internationally.

Ms Lamb said the products would deliver consistent quality, with a desirable shelf life, without compromising freshness.

“The end user will value the products versatility, reduced preparation time and waste,” Ms Lamb said.

“The new product also aligns with domestic and international demand and trend for value added convenience products which reduce labour costs and waste, ultimately saving the end user.”

The project will create 16 agricultural jobs, another four during construction as well as supporting four indirect jobs.

“Increasing opportunities for skilled labour in rural communities is rare, and this opportunity will create several new skilled roles,” Ms Lamb said.

Wickham Farms supplies whole brushed potatoes to supermarkets and fresh cut vegetables to food manufacturers, quick service restaurants, wholesale and food service.

The entire business has grown from two employees in the 1970s to employing over 70 people today in roles such as farming, harvesting, grading, processing, packaging, quality control, maintenance, administration, and logistics.

“Our fresh cut division was founded about 25 years ago, as we sought a value-added option for vegetables that did not meet supermarket specifications,” Ms Lamb said.

The Rural Economic Development (RED) Grants program offers emerging projects up to $250,000 in co-contributions to build industry and grow employment opportunities across the agricultural sector. The $10 million grants program provides for three funding rounds over a three-year period ending 2021.

A total of 15 businesses have received $3.14 million under the third round of funding for the RED Grants program. Overall, these projects are expected to create more than 600 jobs across the agricultural sector in regional Queensland.

Across the three rounds of the RED Grant program, a total of 43 agricultural businesses have received funding toward economic development projects worth $40.8 million and estimated to create 1,897 new direct and indirect jobs over the lifetime of these projects.

QRIDA offers a range of assistance to primary producers, small business and non-profit organisations. To find out what’s available visit Programs and Services.

The Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) administer the RED Grant scheme on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.