Stunning farm tours on offer at Taste Of The Kimberley, showcasing locally grown produce

West Australian

4 days ago

As part of Taste Of The Kimberley, East Kimberley farmer Matt Gray will take festival goers on a stunning farm tour, showing off what local produce the Ord Valley has to offer.
The Behind the Gates farm tours will offer an opportunity to join Matt Gray from Ceres Farm on a guided journey from the original pump house through cotton, sorghum, sandalwood, chickpea and melon fields.
Tours of Kununurra's brand new cotton gin are also on offer, followed by a native-inspired morning tea in Mirima National Park.
'Everybody gets something different out of it, depending on where they're from and their background,' Mr Gray said.
'People from WA are really interested in the cotton, because that's something not typically grown in WA. They like to see how it's produced and processed.
'Everyone also loves seeing watermelons and pumpkins, because obviously, anywhere to see where your food comes from is fantastic. The sunflowers are always everybody's favourite.'
Mr Gray will also be part of the farmers' panel, answering questions on the local agricultural industry from punters, connecting consumer with producer.
'I'm guessing there will be some questions about the cotton gin. We'll be focusing on how cotton is a sustainable crop and trying to educate people,' he said.
'It's not what it's touted to be on the east coast, and it is a good fit for this area, both economically and environmentally.'
He said he was looking forward to seeing festival goers try all of the Ord Valley produce at the FEASTival.
'We obviously heavily focus on what we do, which is watermelons, pumpkins, and grain and fibre crops but when you actually sit down and make a list of things actually produced in the Ord Valley, it's fairly extensive,' Mr Gray said.
'So just for someone to collaborate all those different products in one area and demonstrate to everybody that we are a food bowl is really important.
'It advertises everything that we do here, and it is a unique part of Australia — and probably more unique to WA, with the irrigation and tropical agriculture.
'Although the Ord is originally set up for farming, it's not a typical farming community. A lot of the main industry here isn't agriculture so people don't get that firsthand look at what's actually produced on their doorstep.
'It's about bringing tourists and educating them but also educating locals as well.'
Taste Of The Kimberley runs from August 15 to 17.