Simplot Tour Of Forest Home Hatchery

–The tour group with Adam Chapman (far back left) –

–Inside Forest Home –

We have a simple ethos when it comes to our operations: you have to see it to believe it. This is why we take pride in giving our stakeholders behind-the-scene access to our operations and sites. One such partner who took advantage of the eased restrictions to visit our Forest Home hatchery is Simplot Australia, a leading agricultural and food manufacturing business.

Simplot are a diverse business that includes vegetable and seafood manufacturing operations that supply chilled, frozen and shelf-stable products to retailers and foodservice customers. “Simplot are a producer and distributor of some of the most recognised fresh and processed produce brands in Australia and Simplot were keen to look at the Salmon industry as it is seen as a stand out within the Agriculture sector,” said Adam Chapman, Huon’s Freshwater Environment Manager and tour lead.

–The small group of potato field specialists and farmers toured the full span of hatchery operations including incubation, hatchery, parr and smolt tanks, biosecurity and wastewater management. –

“They were extremely interested in the RAS system and our desire to minimise water use and maximise growth and control the growing conditions for the fish,” said Adam.

“They considered/compared this form of management similar to farmers moving from broad acre farming to hydroponics.” Of particular interest was the process and equipment used in the biological filtration and ozone treatment of the water, and the automatic feed system. Adam also provided context to Huon’s vertically integrated operating and business model and Forest Home’s role in this.

“They were an extremely likeable group, with interest in our company and fascinated in the site in a professional way.” The group were engaged from the get go and throughout the tour eagerly shared stories and knowledge of their farming industry, similarities and best farming practice.

–The group was thoroughly impressed with the magnitude of our global and national capture and the sustainability of our production and diversity of production to these markets. –

“I think they were highly impressed with Forest Home. They understood its value to Huon, as the site is a producer of exceptional quality fish and that it was a major company investment and showed confidence in Tasmania and the Salmon industry to invest considerable funds into its development,” said Adam.