potatoes

18
Paul and Leanne Campbell:
An innovative duo
COMBINING A LOVE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
WITH A PASSION FOR GROWING A VARIETY OF
CROPS, TASMANIAN POTATO GROWERS PAUL
AND LEANNE CAMPBELL ARE NOT AFRAID OF
A CHALLENGE. STEPHANIE EAVES CHATS TO
THE PAIR ABOUT THEIR INNOVATIVE APPROACH
TO GROWING AND THE ONGOING FIGHT FOR
BETTER LABELLING LAWS.
Growing is rarely a solitary
pursuit, and no one
embodies the spirit of teamwork
as well as Paul and Leanne
Campbell. The couple met in
high school and they recently
celebrated their 27th wedding
anniversary.
“I think we work well as a
team,” Leanne says. “Paul is
very good at what he does –
he’s always loved and enjoyed
farming; he always wanted to
have his own farm and to work
for himself.”
Working on the property they
have owned and run for the
last 12 years, Paul and Leanne
have developed an effective
style of working together that
has held them in good stead
through both tough times and
prosperous times.
“I help out during harvest
season, with logistics, helping
to move machinery and helping
on the harvester when need be.
And I do all the book keeping,”
Leanne says.
“And I do everything else,”
Paul laughs.
Potatoes plus
The Campbell’s farm in
Sassafras, northern Tasmania,
has always been the perfect
place to grow a variety of crops.
They grow Russet Burbank,
Ranger and Top Cat potatoes
for Simplot, to be used for
McDonald’s French fries. In
addition to potatoes, Paul and
Leanne grow beans, poppies
and wheat. Paul believes that
the climate, water supply
and mild temperatures make
Sassafras particularly enviable
in terms of growing conditions.
“We don’t get the extreme
weather conditions that other
parts of the country get,” he
says proudly.
“Even though we’ve had
a really dry winter and we’re
heading into a dry summer,
that’s nothing we haven’t dealt
with before.”
When harsh weather
conditions do strike, Paul