THINK of a quirky fruit and vegetable combination, and chances are Greg and CC Petersen have grown, mixed and made it into a jam, syrup or sauce.
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Among their creations have been rosella and ginger, green papaya and pickles, and even pineapple and hot chilli.
Located in Woolooga, Qld, the husband-and-wife growers operate a paddock-to-plate business, CC's Kitchen, with Greg growing the produce and CC featuring it as the main ingredient in the food products they sell.
Their ability to produce regular and more unusual value-added products has been taken up a notch with the installation of a new commercial kitchen and equipment.
The Petersens used a Sustainability Loan from the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) to build the kitchen on an additional property and upgrade their tractor.
It has given them more efficient land-preparation and a range of more than 100 fruit and vegetable condiments.
"The build of our new kitchen has been life-changing for us because over a year ago we were operating out of a three by three metre kitchen and now the whole building is 20 by 15.5m, so we are able to create more products more efficiently and open up more avenues to value-add into our farming business," Ms Petersen said.
"I thought I had passion before but the fire in the belly is actually hotter than ever because I have a kitchen big enough for me to do a dance and be creative, and I also enjoy what I do."
Having previously been impacted by the financial devastation of floods and droughts, Ms Petersen said it was a relief to have the sale of their food products as an additional income stream for when the uncertain times come.
"Farming is very tough especially when you have to deal with things like floods, droughts and hailstorms because severe weather is uncontrollable," she said.
"But whatever I do under my kitchen roof is controllable, so we can always knuckle down and make more jams.
"For products that we normally send to market, if they've got a little bit of a kink or a spec on it normally you can't sell it, so what we've also been doing is cutting the bad part of the imperfect fruit and either cooking or freezing it for later."
The Petersens' new, air-conditioned tractor is also keeping Mr Petersen cool in the warm climate and cutting his hours of farm labour.
"It's good having a new tractor because you can work the farm more efficiently and the tractor has a four-in-one bucket which I can use to level ground, push out old rosellas, and pick up dirt," he said.
Ms Petersen said her husband loves farming and she loves cooking.
"So what a better way to live, the fact we live out on this beautiful little piece of dirt, but we also get to enjoy each other's company as well," she said.
QRIDA's Sustainability Loans of up to $1.3 million can help primary production businesses expand and add value to their enterprise.
QRIDA regional area manager for Burnett, Cindy Godden, said the expansion of the Petersens' farm business also means there's enough work for them to employ people all-year-round rather than just seasonally.
"It gives the Petersens the benefit of cross training their employees, so they may be starting out the day early on the farm with Greg and then transitioning to the kitchen with CC through the heat of the day," Ms Godden said.
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