Kalfresh

Robert Hinrichsen ‐ Director

The Hinrichsen family have been farming in the Kalbar area of Queensland for three generations. They began growing potatoes and carrots on a large cattle property in the 1960s, before moving the family business to the irrigated flat farmland of the Warrill Valley in the early 1980s.

In 1992, Kalfresh was established and was made up by several growers in the area. The main produce was carrots and onions, with beans and pumpkins following. After four years of sustained growth, they constructed their first washing facility on the Cunningham Highway. Kalfresh has supplied Woolworths with fresh veggies since they started, and supplying directly since 2009.

"The partnership with Woolworths has given us the confidence to invest in new technology and techniques improving our quality in the long run. Each year we supply 5 million kgs of carrots, 2.5 million kgs of onions, 1.5 million kgs of pumpkins and approximately 400,000 kgs of beans to Woolworths nationwide." ‐ Robert Hinrichsen

Robert Hinrichsen is the founding director of Kalfresh. He is a passionate grower, and says what he loves the most is the soil of his farm. As an alluvial clay base, it’s a giant ecosystem. Managing the soil is one of the great challenges of their operation, but also one of the most rewarding parts of farming.

"When I was a kid my interest in produce came from our neighbours who all had small family run packing sheds for carrots, potatoes and the like. During late high school dad went into fresh sweet corn. For many years it was handpicked and packed. We purchased the first hydrocooler in the district, which changed the game in the corn industry. I could see technology was going to be a driver of change for the future industry." ‐ Robert Hinrichsen

Each vegetable produced by Kalfresh has a unique growing process. As carrots are a scavenging root crop, well prepared soil is crucial for top quality and high yields. Other major considerations include irrigation management. Organic‐based, crushed rock formulation releases nutrition to the carrots as they grow. When harvested, a machine lifts the carrots by their tops, removes the tops and elevates the crop to transport to the washing shed. There they undergo an extensive washing, grading, cooling and packing operation before being dispatched to Woolworths.

As onions are a bulb vegetable, the varieties have critical dates for planting. If the farm misses the planting window in late April, the crop will not bulb. Once maturity has been established the crop is hand harvested using large numbers of people. The onions are topped and tailed in the field, then field dirt, excess shell and debris is removed and the produce is graded by size.

Beans are a delicate plant. Detailed monitoring and exact timing has proven to be the key to successful harvests. After the flowering of the crop, harvest takes place by a machine that gently strips the crop from the bush. Grading removes any debris and broken beans, then washing and cooling presents the product for packing.

Kalfresh also grow 3 types of pumpkin – grey, Kent and butternut. Each one has slight variations in growing, but is essentially the same to produce. Pumpkins grow rapidly and are weed controlled by cultivation and chipping. All pumpkins are gently picked by hand and elevated to 500kg storage bins in the field. Good quality pumpkins have a soft skin so they damage easily.

"In all of the vegetable crops we grow, the reason for participating in that industry was simply point of difference." ‐ Robert Hinrichsen

For consumers, Robert is keen to point out the taste difference of Kalfresh products. Their mild temperatures and clay soils produce very sweet carrots and the efficient harvesting process means Kalfresh beans retain their flavour and crispness much longer.

At home, carrots and beans should be stored in a refrigerator crisper, but onions and pumpkins just need to be kept in a cool, dry and dark area. Robert enjoys his carrots with a honey glaze, his onions on skewers with lamb and capsicum and his pumpkin in soups. But really, he reflects, these are great vegetables useful in so many ways and thanks to his company available at great quality for 12 months a year.