Lettuce rejoice

Ilse Van Lipzig and Rob Rutten have been growing vegetables hydroponically near Tallygaroopna since 2013 and have steadily increased their production as their facilities and demand have grown.

The couple is despatching pallets of lettuces and thousands of bunches of basil each week to wholesalers under the Aussie Pride Produce name.

Today they are growing the produce in a temperature-controlled glasshouse almost one hectare in size built in 2019, from seedlings they have propagated themselves —whereas their beginnings were much more modest.

The couple migrated to Australia from the Netherlands where glasshouses dominate the agricultural landscape.

Both have worked in other occupations (Ms Van Lipzig is a trained nurse), but they come from families who have run businesses, so they were keen to develop their own enterprise on the former dairy farm they found near Tallygaroopna.

The lettuces and basil grow on a plastic base that floats in a nutrient-rich pool of recirculating water, with temperature controlled by heaters, ventilation and evaporative cooling.

As well as the prime products of basil followed by lettuce, the partnership also grows wombok (Chinese cabbage) and white asparagus, a European favourite.

The past 18 months during the COVID-19 lockdowns have been tough for the business with demand dropping off because of the impact on hospitality, but the enterprise is bouncing back.

Ms Van Lipzig said she hoped there would be no more lockdowns.

Securing staff has also been an issue associated with COVID-19.

“It’s been challenging at times to find a workforce,” she said.