Central Queensland fruit growing business Groves Grown Tropical Fruits of Yeppoon has won Piñata Farms’ Honey Gold Grower of the Year award at the annual Honey Gold Congress.
Long-time growers of mangoes, avocados, lychees and carambola, Ian and Sandi Groves, son David and daughter-in-law Jacinta (a nurse, who helps during the harvest) received the award at the congress in Melbourne on May 19-20 for excellence in crop forecasting, consistent quality fruit, communication and all-round performance during the 2024-2025 Honey Gold season.
Groves Grown Tropical Fruits has been growing Honey Gold mangoes since 2001 and today has some 7000 trees spread over 18 hectares. In the past season, the Groves produced some 35,000 trays of Honey Gold mangoes with a high percentage premium packout.
Ian Groves said the award was a surprise and the family was thrilled to be recognised, especially given the depth of experience and professionalism of the grower group.
“The entire Honey Gold network comprising about 25 growers in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia, put in a huge effort to produce a premium crop and deliver accurate information to help Piñata Farms’ marketing team achieve the best possible results for growers,” he said.
“It’s critical to forecast accurately so the Piñata team can plan and execute the sales and marketing program.
“The weather – before and during the harvest – was on our side last season and that helped with forecasting and getting great quality fruit to market.
“Our harvest, which usually runs for about three weeks from Boxing Day to mid-January, was right on time.
“Our main aim is to control quality and get the crop off in time,” he said.
Groves Grown Tropical Fruits, a known adopter of technology, has collaborated with Central Queensland University researchers for some 10 years to trial the world’s first autonomous mango harvester and other advancements in mango production.
Professor Kerry Walsh and his research team test the autonomous harvester on about 20 mango trees left unharvested at the Groves’ property every season.
“Other research trials ongoing on Honey Gold blocks include flush, crop and flower monitoring aimed at altering harvest dates and predicting maturity,” Mr Groves said.
Groves Grown Tropical Fruits is among a few growers to combine drip irrigation, fully grassed interrows and heavy mulching using hay baled elsewhere on the property.
“As we rely on our own dams and bores, this method reduces our water use to about a third,” he said.
Groves Grown Tropical Fruits operates year ’round with four permanent staff and up to 40 seasonal workers at peak harvest periods. The award is the second for the family business which also took out the top honour in 2019.
Third-party growers commit to the brand
Piñata Farms managing director Gavin Scurr said all third-party growers were exceptional growers who were committed to the Honey Gold brand.
“Our growers are a tight-knit group who collaborate and support each other to achieve the best possible outcomes. This is quite unique in Australian horticulture as growers see other growers as their competitors so don't tend to share knowledge. The Honey Gold group sees the benefit of sharing learnings so the whole group benefits,” Mr Scurr said.
“The Groves family business is consistently among the finalists because they are solid performers who always do an excellent job.”
Piñata Farms achieved its highest percentage of customer acceptance rate during the 2024-2025 season. The 14-week season resulted with volumes on a par to the past two seasons.
Growers and their families gathered in Melbourne to share outcomes of the 2024-2025 season and gain insights into the brand's development.