Meet Grower Martin Inderbitzin

Martin Inderbitzen - Berry North, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Martin is a 3rd generation farmer. After studying mechanical engineering and working in power generation and sugar research, Martin returned to his farming roots, and over time moved into a variety of crops including avocados, custard apples, bananas and now Blueberries. Martin has been growing our delectable blueberries since 2014 at Atherton and has recently developed a new farm in Dimbulah which aims to have its first crop in 2023.

Read about Martin’s journey with Eureka Blueberries…

What do you love about growing Mountain Blue Eureka blueberries?

I get a lot of job satisfaction from producing high-quality fruit.  We have a great team that works hard to grow, pick and pack some great-tasting blueberries.  It is very rewarding to go into Coles and see great blueberries on the shelf that came from our farm.

We get to grow the best varieties in the world and a range of varieties that extend our season from March to October.   We also get the opportunity to have input into selecting new varieties with MB.  It is very exciting to be part of the whole process.
 

How many Kgs of blueberries does the farm produce annually?

We currently produce approximately 200t per annum.

Do you have hives on the farm to assist in pollination? 

We use a lot of bees on our farm to pollinate our blueberries (and avocados).  Our beekeeper is an old school friend of mine, Tom @ FNQ Honey & Bees.  He does a great job supplying quality hives for our farm.

During peak season, how many trays of berries do you produce?

We have a really long harvest season.  We pick and pack berries from March to October.  We harvest different varieties at different times of the year.  Our biggest production week was about 20t of fruit in one week or approximately 13000 blueberry trays. 



What has been the highlight of your career in blueberries?

I can’t say there has been one major highlight, but plenty of small milestones that have been achieved along the way.  It has been a really challenging and rewarding learning experience growing blueberries.  Each year we improve what we do, and seeing that improvement in our production and quality is very rewarding!

What excites you about the future of berry farming?

I think the future development of new and better varieties to suit our production area is very exciting.  It will enable us to produce even better-quality fruit for our customers that they will really enjoy.  We are constantly trying to improve what we do in the orchard facing production challenges or improving the way we pick and pack the crop.  

Tell us about your family- do they love blueberries as much as you?

My wife Nicole and I have 3 children, Mia 11, Louis 10, and Nadine 4.  All 3 kids love blueberries (most kids do!) and happily spend time with me checking the blueberry irrigation and/or eating fruit while doing it!  But they are tough critics, if the blueberries aren’t perfect, they let me know!