Forth The Harvest Moon Head Office and Factory Operations are located in the small town of Forth on the North West Coast of Tasmania, Australia. Tasmania's mild climate without the extremes of continental Australia and fertile volcanic soils provides steady, uninterrupted growth for vegetables. The result, vegetables with superior flavour and keeping quality. The township of Forth is within thirty minutes of two major ports - Burnie and Devonport. The close proximity of the company to ports enables daily delivery to anywhere in Australia. Overseas destinations can also be serviced with the same frequency as from any other Australian vegetable supplier. Harvest Moon owns and operates many farms in the Forth area and its surroundings. Being in close proximity to the factory operations allows the quality of perishable vegetables to be maintained at a high standard. Cressy Harvest Moon established new farming operations near the small town of Cressy, in North Eastern Tasmania in 2000. The acquisition of the two farms “Kinburn” and “Bronte Downs” doubled the farming area owned by Harvest Moon. The crops that are being grown in this area include red and brown onions, broccoli, pumpkin, poppies, potatoes and wheat. The expansion of Harvest Moon's production to this area was a strategic decision based on the following issues: · Harvest Moon has been farming the Turners Beach river flats for almost a decade and with technology and new techniques, has become a leader in the farming of fragile soils. We believe that our methods of raised bed farming can be transferred to the Northern Midlands with great benefit to growers. · The substantial areas of land with virtually unlimited access to water were the appealing factors of the Northern Midlands. With the right technology and techniques this area can be converted into good intensive cropping land. · The topography of the land will enable broad-scale farming and the utilisation of centre pivots for cheaper, more effective water management. The quality of product will be enhanced due to better and more reliable irrigation techniques. · The Cressy production centre provides real alternatives for crop rotation for the local growers and the establishment of the property as a demonstration farm will give these people first hand knowledge of the applications required to produce high quality fresh market vegetables. · Increasing production on the North West Coast is limited due to a shortage of labour. The move to Cressy will grant us access to an additional labour pool in and around Launceston. · The opportunity for growers in the North East of the state to supply fresh market vegetables will be addressed in the medium term also. · By expanding further east, Harvest Moon's production will be spread over numerous areas, and climates, reducing risks associated with concentrated production. Harvest Moon believes that the above factors will benefit the entire Tasmanian vegetable industry.
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