A PAIR of onion and garlic-growing brothers has been awarded the Syngenta Grower of the Year Award at the Hort Connections 2021 conference in Brisbane earlier this month.
Fifth generation farmers Andrew and David Moon from Moonrocks, St George, Queensland took out the top gong which recognises outstanding achievement across all aspects of horticultural production, including growing, environmental management, staff management and quality of produce, and acknowledges grower commitment to innovation and advancing the Australian horticulture industry.
Moonrocks supplies a wide range of horticulture crops, specialising in broccoli, onions and garlic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Moon brothers started the G'day Garlic range of garlic powders.
Processing and packaging of the products also take place on-farm, which has supported the local community by creating jobs and contributed to the business's growth.
In his thank-you speech on the night, Andrew Moon said it was an absolute honour to receive the award.
"This award is not for me but for my team," Mr Moon said.
"What an absolute highlight in a b****** of a year."
Mr Moon thanks Ausveg and PMA-ANZ put the success down to family, staff and hard work. He also encouraged all growers in the room to keep on doing what they are doing.
"Keep on delivering. Our customers in Australia are the luckiest customers in the world," he said.
Ausveg chief executive officer James Whiteside said the award is the highest accolade in Australian horticulture and reflected the brothers' dedication to their business and their tireless efforts on behalf of the horticulture industry.
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"Andrew and David are actively involved in the vegetable and wider horticulture industry, with Andrew previously serving as chair of Onions Australia and David a former board member of Hort Innovation."
"Andrew and David have transformed their business into one of the most innovative and successful growing operations in Australia, which has been built on a strong foundation of consistent quality through environmentally sustainable farming practices and attention to detail.
"Andrew and David are very deserving winners of the Grower of the Year accolade and we congratulate them on their tremendous success to date.
"I have no doubt we will continue to see great things from them for years to come."
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