Commercial Update

Grower Partner Mercuri Farms

Basking under the hot February sun in the heart of Northern Victoria is a fresh produce haven called Lancaster, home to our own Lancaster Farms. Next door, our friendly neighbours the Mercuri family produce delicious field-grown Gourmet tomatoes, which we help to pack and deliver to Australian consumers nationwide.

This family-owned and operated Australian business all started with Don Mercuri, who founded the farm in the mid-fifties after moving over from Italy. Since then, the operation has been passed down the Mercuri line – first to Don’s sons Tony and Phil, who remain the farm’s head growers to this day. Now, Mercuri Farms has ushered in its third generation, with Tony and Phil’s children – Damien, Don, Nathan and Adam – joining the fray.

The team at Mercuri Farms work year-round, producing around 3000 tonnes of tomatoes every year. Planting usually begins around September. A few months later, the stars of sunlight and rain align to produce ideal growing conditions and a thriving tomato crop, ready for harvest. From December through to mid-May, around 100 fruit pickers come in to pluck the tomatoes from their vines and send them next door to Lancaster Farms. Here, they are washed, sorted and packed, before being distributed to shop and supermarket shelves for customers to find.

After that, it’s up to you – whether you’re after a fragrant pasta sauce or fresh pizza topping, these vitamin-rich and flavour-filled tomatoes are at your fingertips, giving their all. Premier Fresh Australia and Lancaster Farms are proud to be supporting our nextdoor neighbours in bringing you three generations of Mercuri family farming expertise and the fruits of our own Australian soil.

Soft vegetable supply

It’s peak season for soft vegetables, with cucumbers, capsicums, zucchinis, eggplant and tomatoes coming in thick and fast.

Growers in Victoria and South Australia are the main suppliers at the moment, servicing the majority of the east coast and many other parts of the country. The southern season wraps up around mid-April, with indoor cropping lasting through until May. Southeast Queensland comes into production in April to help compliment the slowdown of the southern season, before north Queensland takes over around June.

With no major weather events so far this year, we have managed to maintain stable supply with no major shortages. Quality has also been consistently good, and we’re looking forward to another 4-6 solid weeks of good product before the season tapers off.