A Diggers Rest mushroom farm chief executive has been named as a finalist in the Young Grower of the Year awards.
Bulla Mushrooms chief and owner Georgia Beattie was named as one of nine finalists in the 2024 Corteva Agriscience Young Grower of the Year Award for her dedication to the business, which is Australia’s largest organic mushroom farm.
The farm supplies to Coles, Woolworths, Costco and independent grocers across Australia.
Ms Beattie said that she was glad to receive the nomination as there are not many opportunities outside of the farm for this type of acknowledgement.
“For me, it’s a moment of reflection of the growth we’ve achieved on the farm, and a bit of a check-in moment,” she said.
Passionate about food sustainability, Ms Beattie said she bought the farm as a way of having a direct impact on the environment by using her technology and entrepreneurial background to create an efficient, environmentally friendly, and modern operation.
For example, Ms Beattie uses AI and a robust database of factors such as relative humidity, air temperature, and compost temperature to determine the ideal growing environment for mushrooms and increase efficiency.
The indoor farm is vertically integrated, meaning mushrooms are grown in stacked layers.
Ms Beattie is also a non-executive director of ACO Certification, Australian Mushroom Growing Association deputy chairperson and was a member of the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee of the National Farmers Federation from 2020-2023.
The winner will be announced at the annual Hort Connections Gala Dinner.
Oscar Parry
