Award honours Northwest vegetable grower

A FOCUS on high yields has helped North-West farmer Jamie Marshall win a major vegetable production award. 

Mr Marshall, who farms on his family’s operation, recently won the Simplot Young Vegetable grower of the Year award. 

The family farms on about 405ha across several properties in the East Devonport and Wesley Vale area after starting out at Forth on what is now the vegetable research station The seventh-generation farmer is the fifth generation on the family’s main property Viewmont at East Devonport. 

After finishing his apprenticeship as a fitter machinist, he worked on the mainland, including harvesting sugar cane and working with Brahman cattle. 

His long-term dream of harvesting cotton at Cubbie station in Queensland was cut short after he had appendicitis just four days after starting. 

After being helicoptered out, he recovered and returned home but still keeps in contact with friends he made. 

“I learnt a lot while I was working over there. You learn different things working for other people and just seeing how they run things.” 

The Marshalls run a mixed cropping and livestock operation and vegetables play a major role in their enterprise. 

This year they are growing a number of crops including baby carrots, peas, beans, potatoes, poppies and pyrethrum. 

They also contract harvest and transport pyrethrum and poppies. 

Aussie Pumps Mr Marshall said they had been growing vegetables for Simplot for a number of years and it was an important part of their operation. 

“Everyone says spuds are king and they are good but there are other crops you can make money out of as well. 

“I love growing spuds though. I love planting them and always wanted to harvest them.” 

He said soil rotation length was a key factor in good potato yields. 

They aim for a rotation of six to eight years and get average yields of 76 to 78 tonnes a hectare. 

“We really try to push the yields every year rather than just growing a bigger area,” he said. 

“I’ve done the sums and when you look at the costs and things like land prices and investment in irrigation, you need to get the best yields you can to get a decent return.” 

He said after potato crops they usually planted pyrethrum which gives the soil a break.

He also aims for high yields in pea and bean crop and uses peas as a rotation with potatoes. 

The family also run sheep and had about 600 sucker lambs this year. 

“You’ve got to give your soil a break because at the end of the day, if you look after your soils they will look after you.” 

The family property is also home to the Viewmont Bowls Club, which was built in 1964, originally set up to allow local farmers to enjoy the sport and socialise without having to travel.