5 minute read
THE TWO OF US - New blue horizons
Natalie Bell and Paul Lloyd own Tallogum Berries in Lindendale near Lismore, Northern NSW. Their different personalities and skillsets are what make this partnership tick.
Words MICHELLE HESPE
Photography ANTHONY ONG
By marrying Ridley Bell’s daughter Nat, Paul married into blueberry royalty. Having introduced the first blueberry into Australia in 1976, Ridley Bell is considered the grandfather of Australia’s blueberry industry. His thriving business – Mountain Blue Farms – has partners across five continents with an estimated 22 million plants being grown globally. It also produces 1000 tonnes of blueberries for the domestic and international market.
“I am the typical farmer, and I also generally do a lot of the dreaming,” says Paul with a bit of a laugh. “Nat is a realist – making sure that we take the right steps and not get too far ahead of ourselves. It’s hard to not dream when you see Ridley growing all these new types of blueberries!
FRUITFUL PARTNERSHIP: Natalie Bell and Paul Lloyd bring their diverse skillsets together for successful results at their farm near Lismore.
“We always joke that dad sees the world in blueberries only. Sometimes he says that he has a slight interest in blackberries,” Nat adds. “And even though I left the farm and went off to Brisbane to study business, you could say that I have blueberries in my veins.”
Nat gained a degree in business at University of Queensland and then a Master of Professional Accounting from Southern Cross University.
“Sales, marketing and business, that’s Nat’s skillset,” Paul says. “I’m always out there on the land doing this or that, finding new things to do. But we both understand that for a business to work, it has to be based in realism. That’s where Nat comes into play. She pulls me up and gets me to see the bigger picture, questioning things such as – ‘is it the right time to invest? Or should we see how something else pans out right now?’ That’s why we work so well together.”
Paul grew up and went to school in Geelong, and his first hands-on farming experience was row cropping of vegetables. He studied at Burnley College in Melbourne and was interested in vegetable seeds and genetic companies, later working with a company releasing new varieties of vegetables. He then moved into an agronomy role – consulting to all farmers on all levels.”
Paul then took on a role at renowned Perfection Fresh – a company that prides itself on finding the tastiest, freshest fruit and vegetables from all over the world, and introducing new varietals to the Australian market. Its innovative marketing and patenting of end products that most of us have seen or bought – such as Broccolini, Qukes baby cucumbers, as well as Kumato and Mix-a-Mato tomatoes – suited Paul to a tea. And that brought him another step closer to meeting Nat.
“We gradually moved from vegetables into more categories, and then eventually into berry lines,” he explains. “At that point in time we were looking to develop new varieties of berries as we didn’t have much of a presence here outside of Driscoll's – the California-based berry seller. I was involved in all things supply chain including product-growing locations, right through to our products being in supermarkets. This led me to being out there in the field looking at new varieties and to meeting the best blueberry breeder in the world – Ridley Bell.”
Discussions between Perfection and the Bells then went on for three or four years, with Perfection wanting to work with the Bells on further developing and marketing new product. “Basically, my family kept saying that we’re not interested because we had a strong partnership with another company, and then eventually we decided our companies were the right fit,” says Nat.
PICKING A PATH: Paul and Nat somewhat broke away from family tradition and started growing raspberries.
By this stage Nat had experience working on communications for the Australian Blueberries Association and in 2013, the two started dating. Two years later they married on a safari in Uganda and shortly afterwards they bought the farm next to her family’s farm.
Breaking away from the family tradition of only growing blueberries, Paul was keen to get into raspberries and the pair naturally moved into Paul’s area of expertise of dealing with licensed varieties of berries from all over the world. “Our company is very dynamic, and there is so much room to learn,” says Nat. “And dad being dad has really helped us from the start.”
GROWING THE BUSINESS: Paul and Nat now have 50 to 60 pickers on their farm during harvest time, and no doubt they'll soon need more.
The couple then bought part of Ridley’s farm in 2016. “Now we’re in this transition period – moving towards better growing techniques such as growing fruit under tunnels, and with hydroponics. There are always new ways of doing things,” says Paul.
Nat, as always, pulls the reins on elements of the business if she feels that they are moving too quickly or taking a step in the wrong direction, as they’ve both learnt that applying innovations means more money.
One thing is for sure – there will always be people who love berries, and Nat and Paul are currently moving about 70 tonnes of berries a years – mainly shipping within Australia and in peak season, to Asia.
“My dad always used to say that you can go off and work in the latest and greatest thing, but the world is always going to eat,” says Nat. “When COVID-19 came into play, one thing that hit home straight away were dad’s words – everyone in the world will always have to eat. The pandemic cemented that philosophy in my mind.” •
