M & G Monte & Son, WA
M&G Monte & Son are third generation growers with over fifty years' experience growing vegetables. Luciano Monte manages the operation, including the production, distribution and sales processes. Mick, Luciano's father, is responsible for farm development, including infrastructure, irrigation and new initiatives. M & G Monte & Son are a prominent grower of leaf and brassica vegetables, including Lettuce, Cos Lettuce, Cauliflower, Celery, Broccoli, and Cabbage.
All of these vegetables have been grown since the company was established. In recent years, M&G Monte & Son has added Celery Hearts, Celery Sticks and Sweet Crunch Lettuce to offer customers greater convenience.
M&G Monte & Son has been supplying Woolworths for over 18 years. They employ over sixty permanent employees at three diverse locations in WA. Carabooda Farms grow all produce lines for Summer production, Lancelin Farm grows all the 'leafy' lines for Winter production and Manjimup focuses on the Winter production of Brassica lines.
"I love going from property to property. Each has its own character. Lancelin is clean and pristine with rolling clean beds of vegetables and large, professional sheds. The Carabooda property one is our original farms and you can see the organic growth. It has a special quality about it." ‐ Luciano Monte
Having three sites results in high quality and a continuous supply all year round. As all vegetables take between 11‐16 weeks from planting to harvest, the farms allow growth to occur in the optimum periods at each location, thereby minimising environmental impacts and managing the soil by resting, rotating and covering crops. This was demonstrated in 2010 when severe hailstorms wiped out huge areas of production. Thanks to the other farms, orders were maintained and the business was back up to full production in a relatively short time.
"Our vegetables are grown from the best farm location possible, so the mix of where our vegetables comes from changes throughout the year. This gives us an advantage that other growers cannot obtain." ‐ Luciano Monte
According to Luciano, growing processes have evolved over the years as technology has improved and their knowledge has increased. Currently they use an outside hydroponic system where crops are provided with nutrients on the basis of 'little but often'. This is ideal for WA's sandy soil but requires constant monitoring and management.
Maintaining a high quality is the biggest challenge faced. To address this, M&G Monte & Son only invest in the best people and equipment. They are currently developing ordering, logistics and stock control systems that utilise iPads. This will mean increased control over their 'just in time' picking, packing and delivery processes. They also operate their own complete cool chain and transport operation, including fixed and transportable vacuum coolers, large controlled cool rooms and their own fleet of GPS refrigerated trucks.
When he's not on the farm, Luciano enjoys playing poker and racing sprint cars; a result of his passion for riding bikes and beach buggies around the farm as a youngster.
To encourage kids to eat healthily, Luciano recommends you only give them high quality, fresh produce, as any bad experience will turn them off. A good trick is to pull the outer layers off lettuce as the inner ones are sweeter and taste better. And when it comes to offering advice to the next generation of growers, Luciano's advice is simple:
"Think twice before you enter the industry and understand why you want to be a grower. It's a great industry but the rewards are not financial ‐ they are more to do with lifestyle." ‐ Luciano Monte