Strawberry grower reflects on early days of strawberries and financing machinery

From fleeing the horrors of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia to making a fresh start in 1980s Melbourne, and, today, quietly overlooking South East Queensland's Glasshouse Mountains as pickers bring in a winter crop of strawberries at his aptly named Oasis Berries.

"When I first started the business here, I was very young," he said.

"I was in my twenties and most of the banks would turn me down. They said it was a high risk."

George needed a tractor to help with everything from preparing the ground to spraying for pests and diseases.

When he visited his local John Deere dealership he heard about its new offering, John Deere Credit, now known as John Deere Financial.

"We were approved for the loan and from there on we've never gone anywhere else," he said.

"We've stuck with John Deere."

Since then, Oasis Berries has expanded to include multiple properties in Queensland at Caboolture and Stanthorpe, allowing them to grow the fleet of John Deere machinery and develop the business.

"I'd suppose you could say it's in our blood, growing strawberries," he said.

"I've gone through it all, from being a picker, to a grower, to now you could say an entrepreneur."

George says determination and hard work was instilled in him from his earliest years.

After his father disappeared one night at the hands of the Cambodian regime, his mother uprooted her six children and escaped, taking the few possessions they could carry onto the plane.

"We migrated to Melbourne in 1983 as refugees - so we thank the Australian government - and ever since we have been in the strawberry industry," he said.

"We were working for Italian families back in those days and my family bought our first property in Wandin, just out of Melbourne, in 1985 when the interest rate was at 18 per cent.

"We paid it off in two years and the bank manager was very surprised and asked how we did it.

"We didn't tell him that we had a four-bedroom house that we turned it into a mini factory and made costumes, like batman costumes. After school I would go to the farm or help with the sewing.

"And the whole family collectively worked together and never drew wages and that's how we made ends meet."

Today, George has five children of his own, with eldest son Jet Nguyen now in his twenties and keen to take over the business.

"I love strawberry farming because I think it's been passed down from my dad and I reckon I will pass it down to my kids," Jet said.

Jet recalls early memories of sitting in the cab of the John Deere with George as he worked the farm. These days, he's the one behind the wheel.

"Before the season starts, we use the tractors a lot," Jet said.

"We do a lot of groundwork with it - grading, packing the ground in, moving the dirt. After that we just use the smaller ones to do spraying and slashing.

"John Deere is the best because of the power, especially the new one we have - it just goes. It's really simple to drive."

For George the simplicity is also the key.

"Maybe I'm used to the green and yellow but it's much easier to operate a John Deere," he said.

"They're very reliable, well built and look better than all the other ones too.

"I love John Deere to be honest."

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