Alex Motta’s family has been farming in the bountiful soil of Koo Wee Rup in Gippsland since 1968. For years the Motta family grew all sorts of veggies: tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, potatoes, sweet corn and pumpkins. One day way back in 1984, Motta Produce co-founder, Charlie, saw an opportunity to focus their efforts solely on asparagus.
Nearly 35 years later, Motta Produce grows some of the crispest, tastiest asparagus in the country. Their choice to specialise on one kind of produce has yielded plenty of rewards!
As you can imagine, Alex is asparagus crazy, and considers himself a bit of an asparagus aficionado. During the harvest season in spring, Alex munches down the green shoots daily. He’s even happy to eat them straight after clipping them from their stem!
Alex says many people are surprised to hear that asparagus is harvested manually with just a clipping stick and glove. When the weather is right, the asparagus shoots need to be picked daily – and if it’s really hot, then they need to be harvested seven days a week.
Once they’ve all been picked, the shoots go through a nifty machine that scans and groups them based on their colour and size. Because they’re growing daily, the whole harvest and packing process needs to be extremely efficient. Alex says that its often within 24 hours after harvest that the produce makes it to your local fruit and veg shop.
Today, the ‘Motta Family’ is spread far and wide, as their farms have expanded outside of their original Koo Wee Rup location. With farms throughout Dalmore and Nar Nar Goon, the Motta family has continued to grow and grow – just like their asparagus!
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