Last Wednesday morning after coffee at Soul Kitchen a number of members journeyed down the Range for a fascinating visit to the massive Withcott Seedlings complex on Postmans Ridge Road.

Chief executive officer Jeremy Callachor, who previously had leading roles with HQPlantations Pty Ltd and Namoi Cotton Limited, was very generous with his time, taking us on an informative, 1.5-hour tour of the facility.

The business, which was founded in 1983 by Graham and Wendy Erhart, has grown to become Australia’s largest supplier of vegetable and tree seedlings.

It specialises in supplying a wide range of vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, melons, lettuce and herbs which they germinate and grow to seedling stage for delivery throughout eastern Australia to growers who plant them out to grow into highly productive crops.

The figures are mind-boggling. Orders run into the hundreds of thousands of plants and the range of varieties into the hundreds.

Many of the vegetable crops you see growing in the Lockyer have been planted from seedling stocks produced by Withcott Seedlings.

The business also produces hundreds of species of native trees, many for planting out in the rural landscape by farmers seeking carbon credits.

There are also crops for producing biofuels,  including some that produce ethanol in a form that can be used directly in engines without any further processing.

Withcott Seedlings is a highly intensive business producing young plants under tightly controlled conditions with a particular focus on biosecurity. Our vehicles had to drive through a disinfectant tyre wash and we had to walk through a shoe bath before entering the facility to prevent the introduction of any diseases which could potentially wipe out the crops – and their business.