Borderland

Zoe Dichiera appreciates the gamble farmers take every day when it comes to their businesses, but it’s one that’s paid off for this Queensland organic grape farming operation.

The Dichiera’s run Borderland Farms and were actually recipients under Round 1 of the Woolworths Organic Growth Fund, enabling them to enhance their organic grape operation in Mildura, and now have been successful with another grant of $500,000 in the latest round of funding. This will be used for the development of their red and white organic table grapes at their Queensland headquarters at Mundubbera, in the state’s North Burnett region.

This grant will be used to acquire the licenced varieties of red and white grape vines they need, and assist with the infrastructure needed to plant, nurture and harvest them. It allows Borderland Farms to have organic grapes on Woolworths’ shelves from November through to April.

Starting down the road to organic certification wasn’t easy, Zoe said, but their passion has kept driving them towards a bigger slice of the organic market and higher levels of excellence in their own business.

“Our philosophy is very much about making organic produce accessible for everyone. We’re a family of four children so we get it – it needs to be affordable and we’re always looking at how we can do things better and more efficiently in order to keep prices down and show more customers the benefits of choosing organic fruit and vegetables,” Zoe said.