Australia is losing another pick-your-own strawberry agritourism attraction with a popular family-owned farm at Wamuran north of Brisbane closed to the public and on the market.
In 2018 Mandy and Adrian Schultz launched “Luvaberry Our War on Waste” to stop tonnes of strawberries being dumped because the fruit failed to meet the look the supermarkets wanted.
The family started by tackling waste on their farm, freezing and freeze-drying second-grade fruit that would otherwise be thrown away and selling it to thousands of Facebook followers who would meet with them in car parks.
The venture grew to include fruit from other growers and “peckish picking” weekends were drawing hundreds of people to their property.
Time for change
After 20 years of constantly reinventing their small farm by diversifying into finger limes and herbs and opening a farm cafe, the couple is ready for a change.
“Turning it from a commodity into an immersive experience has certainly worked but to keep going it needs a lot more energy and requires us to dig even deeper,” Ms Schultz said.
“Farming for me has come to a point where we have done nothing but overcome obstacles for so long now.
“We’ve just come to that place where we want to take an easier road in life. I’m looking forward to being an employee.”
The couple’s two children left home late last year and Mr Schultz said it was time for new people with fresh energy to invest in the 16-hectare property which has been listed for offers of more than $2.8 million.
“We just had a holiday and that’s the first holiday in six years when I’ve had even a week off,” the qualified horticulturist said.
“You have a bit of a break and you realise that there are a lot of other things out there to do.”
Luvaberry is the second family-owned pick-your-own strawberry offering in south-east Queensland to announce its closure this year, following Cooloola Berries near Gympie.
Staying involved with the industry
Mr Schultz said he hoped to remain the president of the Queensland Strawberry Growers Association and was also taking on the role of its secretary.
“I’m certainly staying involved with the industry and there are quite a few things I want to see come to fruition over the next few years,” Mr Schultz said.
“I’m going to be involved in advocating for the growers and dealing with government and so forth going forward.”
Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN) chief executive Nicole McNaughton said the couple’s contribution to the Moreton Bay region and agritourism was significant and would be missed.
“They’re absolute pioneers, pioneers for their region and pioneers for waste and sustainability and agritourism in the region,” Ms McNaughton said.
The couple said weather extremes, staffing challenges, and the increasing costs of production, insurance, and compliance all added to the pressures of running their small farm.
Asked how they would describe their emotions since they decided to sell, they were frank about their feelings.
“It has been a bit of a roller-coaster and it’s still tough. There were a lot of aspirations and dreams for the place,” Mr Schultz said.
“But we’ve taken it as far as we can and it’s time now for somebody else.”
Ms Schultz, who is retraining to be a travel consultant, said she was a “bit excited as well as emotional” because there was a lot to look forward to.
“It’s time to go on holidays and have some fun and have a date, go on dinner dates … and go camping in winter because we’ve never been able to do that.”
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