Andrew Dewar ‐ SAS Pastoral
Andrew Dewar is a fifth generation farmer who grew up on a Broadacre farm in Northern NSW. At the time the family operation was producing cereals and cotton, but ten years ago the Dewars decided to move into irrigated farming and acquired the property known as 'Listowel' in Toowoomba Queensland. This purchase was soon followed by the expansion into Summer specific production farms on the Darling Downs, and winter specific production farms in the Lockyer Valley. Now the family owned business is able to supply quality fresh lettuces 12 months a year.
"Listowel is in an area thought of as the salad bowl of Australia. It's located in the foothills of the great dividing range and has deep rich soils which are free draining and soft summer temperatures that make it ideal for growing produce." ‐ Andrew Dewar
The family is passionate about making horticulture commercially viable as a way to look after Australia's water resource. Andrew believes the techniques employed in farming this way give them a greater capability to provide quality vegetable lines, and to nurture plants to maximise their taste potential. Starting out the Dewars found it difficult to break into horticulture, and any new grower has to go through years of graft to build a profitable business.
"As a relatively new horticultural business we had always tried to obtain a direct partnership with Woolworths. It's a very valuable relationship, and has been important to the growth of our business." ‐ Andrew Dewar
The first five years into their relationship with Woolworths, SAS Pastoral produced between 3000 and 8000 crates of baby cos lettuce per week and equal amounts of iceberg lettuce. Year round they provide between 500 and 3000 crates of the sweet crunch variety for Woolworths stores.
"Sweet Crunch is an exciting new leafy vegetable line that has only been introduced last year. We are proud to be providing this delicious new innovation to Woolworths customers." ‐ Andrew Dewar
Growing fresh vegetables like lettuces requires intricate care. Nurturing every plant from seedling right though to finished product (generally from 6‐8 weeks) is incredibly intensive but also extremely rewarding.
Baby cos, apart from tasting sweet and having plenty of crunch is a great value product because very little is wasted in its use. Sweet crunch has a great taste and its leaves are a perfect shape for dishes like Sang Choy Bow.
Andrew recommends you choose a lettuce on its appearance, make sure it has a white clean butt, a dense head and bright green, fresh leaves. It's important to store them in the vegetable crisper section of the fridge and rinse with cold water before use. Try your own Caesar salad with SAS Pastorals Baby cos lettuce. It's a great tasting dish that really looks amazing too. Andrew believes the trick to getting kids to enjoy vegetables is to make it fun and get them involved in cooking and preparing food. With any luck you'll inspire another generation of vegetable growers like Andrew's parents did.