Piñata Farms innovates with year-round strawberries

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AUSTRALIAN strawberry producer, Piñata Farms, will begin year-round production of the popular fruit for the first time this year.

Piñata Farms, which has produced strawberries at its Wamuran farm north of Brisbane since 2000, will harvest its first spring and summer crop at Stanthorpe in Queensland’s Granite Belt from September. 

This season’s first berries were harvested at Wamuran in May, heralding the start of what Piñata Farms’ managing director Gavin Scurr said had been a brilliant growing season so far.

“We had the perfect pre-harvest conditions leading into the season with mild, dry days ideal for producing quality fruit. Conditions could not have been better for our Stanthorpe farm as it comes on line for the first time,” Mr Scurr said.

More than 2.1 million runners were planted on plastic-covered beds at Pinata’s 45-hectare Wamuran farm to produce some five million punnets of fruit until late September. The farm employs up to 300 people to pick and pack the strawberries on site during the peak period between August and September.

Mr Scurr said harvesting at Wamuran steadily increased throughout winter until it reached peak production. The Stanthorpe farm would then supply Piñata’s spring and summer crops until Wamuran production began again next autumn.

“Stanthorpe production has been strategically planned to close the gap in our supply window, ensuring a 12-month supply from Piñata from here on,” Mr Scurr said.

Mr Scurr said the Stanthorpe farm – set at an altitude of 990m in one of Queensland’s coldest regions – was acquired specifically to chase summer strawberry production.

“With strawberries, varietal selection is critical,” Mr Scurr said. “We select varieties for their optimum flavour and bright red colour as well as consistent size and shape and match them with the attributes of our growing regions.”

“At Wamuran, we grow two main varieties – Festival and Fortuna – while at Stanthorpe we predominantly grow the Albion variety, chosen over other potentially higher yielding varieties, for its even-bearing abilities.

“When it comes to buying strawberries, taste is everything. Beautiful eating and good-looking strawberries will encourage consumers to buy again and again.

“A good strawberry typically is sweet and juicy. It should be of a conical shape with plump shoulders tapering to a point and have a solid centre.”

With 10 hectares of fruit under cultivation, the Stanthorpe farm is expected to produce 106,000 trays in its first season.

Stanthorpe-based strawberry production manager, Sean Riley, said consumers could expect super-sized delicious strawberries from Stanthorpe over summer.

“The Albion variety is best suited to Stanthorpe where the cool temperatures increase sweetness in the fruit,” Mr Riley said.

“We’re confident we have selected the best variety for these conditions and consumers are going to have access to consistent quality strawberries all through summer.”

Up to 50 people would be employed at Stanthorpe during harvest, he said.

All Piñata strawberries are plucked off the plant by hand and placed into trays in the field. Once trays arrive at the packing shed, fruit is kept chilled to retain freshness before being packed into 250g punnets and transported directly to supermarkets.

Piñata strawberries are available under the Piñata brand at Coles and Woolworths supermarkets throughout Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, as well as selected independent retail outlets.

Piñata Farms is a Queensland family business with origins dating back to the 1960s in the state’'s south-east.

Founded by pineapple farmer Geoff Scurr at Wamuran, Piñata Farms is now operated by Geoff's sons, Gavin and Stephen Scurr. Piñata Farms is the largest pineapple producer in Australia, one of the largest strawberry producers and holds the breeding rights to grow specialty Honey Gold mangoes, produced in every mainland state except South Australia.

www.pinatafarms.com.au

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