On the outskirts of Rockhampton sits a popular, family-run mango farm, supplying the beloved fruit to hungry families around the state each summer.
For more than three decades, the Keogh and McDouall families have grown mangoes.
But after struggling to turn a profit amid rising production and regulatory costs and staffing challenges, the owners have made the hard decision to sell up.
The new owners will clear the mango trees and set up a stockhorse stud.
Outgoing owner of MMM Mangoes and Avocados Tim Keogh described it as a difficult decision, but according to the industry’s peak body, he is not alone in these struggles.
“The future, to me, looks bleak in the horticulture game,” Mr Keogh said.
“Machinery costs, freight costs — I mean, look at the fuel price going through the roof at the moment,” he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, this industry’s been good to us, but … it’s just getting harder and harder to operate.”
Tim Keogh says the growing list of compliance measures was time-consuming, with growers shouldering the added costs. (ABC Capricornia: Erin Semmler)
Mr Keogh and his wife Jenna took over the farm 12 years ago from Jenna’s parents, who had expanded the orchard to 4,000 mango trees in the 1990s.
The Keoghs only shipped 12,000 seven-kilogram trays of mangoes this season compared to the 36,000 trays in the year prior, as mango trees’ yield drops, especially every second year.
The 35-hectare property was bought by prominent cattle producer and stockhorse breeder Evan Acton.
After selling the vast Millungera Station in north-west Queensland in January, Mr Acton said he was happy to be semi-retiring in the region he grew up in and planned to clear the farm’s trees.
“We’re going to set up our Australian stockhorse stud, and we’ll also be … running cattle on our property next door,” Mr Acton said.
Farms struggle amid rising costs
Australian Mango Industry Association chief executive Trevor Dunmall said MMM Mangoes and Avocados was one of many in the industry struggling with rising production costs, including for items such as fertiliser and electricity.
“Generally, there’s a quiet optimism, but things are tough … not just mangoes, this is right across the fruit and vegetable industries,” Mr Dunmall said.
Kabra-based MMM Mangoes has been in the family for two generations. (ABC Capricornia: Claudia Sullivan)
He also said compliance was a key concern for growers.
“They’re getting buried under a mountain of red tape and paperwork, a lot of the time unnecessarily.
“Whether it’s food safety audits, ethical treatment of workers, environmental standards … growers take [compliance] very seriously.
“But often they become so rigorous … common sense has gone out the window.
“We’ve had reports where people have faded posters of mango quality. Because they’re faded, they’re getting a compliance correction. It has nothing to do with food safety.
“We’re working to address that, but it’s a little bit [like] trying to turn back the Titanic.”
Scott Kompo-Harms is the chief executive at Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers, an industry body that represents farmers and also offers audits through their scheme Fair Farms.
“The reason that people are undertaking compliance with Fair Farms [is] because they need to comply with the requirements to supply retailers,” Mr Kompo-Harms said.
The Keoghs say their mango farm has some of the oldest trees in the region. (ABC Rural: Megan Hughes)
He also said they were one of many groups that offered compliance audits farmers could sign up to, demonstrating their food was safely and ethically produced.
“I think as a general trend, there has been a proliferation of these types of schemes … because there’s a proliferation of regulation from the government sector and also … requirements coming from supermarkets,” Mr Kompo-Harms said.
“If you get into export, there’s another layer of complexity again, because you’ve got to demonstrate things to foreign governments as well,” he said.
Mr Dunmall said compliance standard owners, retailers and industry representatives will meet in Canberra on March 25 to encourage communication between the parties.
But in the meantime, Mr Dunmall said farms like MMM Mangoes and Avocados would continue to struggle.
“The prices that you see on the supermarket shelves don’t reflect the amount of work that goes into producing a high-quality mango,” he said.
“The joy of farming is disappearing quickly … compliance is a factor in that.”