Durban market and avoids flooding it with produce, which would push prices down.
“ I phone the markets every morning to determine prices. Our business is built around risk, and buyers often pull out. Now we offer at our price and stay aggressive about those prices.”
“ In the case of coriander, the pricing is governed by certain buyers linked to supermarkets. It is a very closed community, and you need to be part of that to stay in the market. We pick today, and tomorrow the crop must be on the shelves.”
Built from the ground up
Roy grew up in Newcastle and moved to the farm in 1980, where his father, Colin, taught him how to work and never give up.
“ In the early stages, coriander developed a root disease, and it took us eight years to solve that problem.
“ When we bought this farm, he said:‘ Don’ t worry, you will make a plan.’ When I asked him how we were going to pay for it, his answer was that we would make a plan.”
Roy started farming at Hillandale in 2008 and initially ran a contracting business doing baling and combining. Agricultural