Helping families grow a sustainable future

In 2006, a First Start Loan from the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) allowed Simon and Kerry to buy 148 acres of black soil at Nobby and move their young family from Samford, Brisbane.  

Three years later, the couple used a Sustainability Loan from QRIDA to build a cold room and packing shed for their vegetable growing operation, specialising in silverbeet and kale.  

By maintaining a relationship with QRIDA the McCarthys have now received the further Sustainability Loan funding they needed to improve their irrigation infrastructure and purchase additional land – significantly increasing the scale and value of their operation.  

Their life changing decision to partner with QRIDA has provided the McCarthys with not only a chance to pursue their goal of a productive and sustainable rural enterprise, but a family lifestyle that would not have been possible in Brisbane.  

Their children, Grace, Kate and Jack all have a love of the land, helping with the vegetable business and getting involved with the family’s small Limousin cattle operation. 

“They are hands on and it’s something exciting that we can do as a family. It teaches them responsibility, how to be sensible and how to look after someone else – it’s an opportunity they would never have received before,” Kerry said. 

Kerry and Simon have no immediate plans to increase the size of their operation, instead focusing on the productivity of their farm and consolidating their thriving horticultural business.  

“Having the irrigation installed means we’ll be able to rotate our vegetables through more paddocks and improve soil health, which will keep us viable and increase our sustainability,” Kerry said.  

“We really couldn’t have done this without QRIDA – they have kept faith in us all along, and have made it [the loans] easier to manage by setting up our payment schedule so it’s due after harvest time each year, which is extremely helpful.”  

The McCarthy family are just one of thousands of Queensland primary producers who value QRIDA as a strong agribusiness partner.  

First Start Loans are available up to $2 million and Sustainability Loans up to $1.3 million. They have no set up or exit fees, no hidden costs and offer repayment terms of up to 20 years.

To learn more about how this loan could help your primary production enterprise, visit QRIDA First Start Loans.