Jack Mooney says his purpose is to ‘feed as many people as possible.’
From starting a thriving free-range egg business as a teenager, to founding a multimillion-dollar propagation greenhouse company
based on his family’s farm, the Well’s Crossing farmer is certainly on track to achieving his goal.
“I’ve always been passionate about primary production and food production,” says the UNE alumnus.
“I started a free-range egg business when I was 15 years old with 100 chickens, and by the time I did my HSC we had 5000 layers and 50 stockists in the greater Coffs Harbour region.
“I’ve also had a cucumber production business, I’ve worked in the seedling industry in Canada, I co-own an online edible plant nursery, and am now launching a propagation greenhouse company called Provenance Propagation.”
This latest venture is set to see Jack become a front-runner in the Australian horticulture space. Using the knowledge gained from his Bachelor of Rural Science and subsequent PhD in cultivating grafted seedlings, Jack will implement innovative growing practices such as LED technology, vertical farming systems, and grafting, which is the process of joining two plants into one to create hybrid, high-yielding varieties.
The future is in food… we are a very dry country, so greenhouse farming is very important as you can increase sustainability by about 90 percent through reducing water use.
With this style of greenhouse farming able to significantly reduce food waste and water use, Jack says it’s the way of the future… and the NSW Government seems to think so, too.
“We recently managed to secure a $900,000 grant from the Regional Job Creation Fund for the development of a $4.5 million propagation facility that will focus on the cultivation of seedlings, particularly for grafted seedlings, which we expect will create 45 local jobs,” he says.
“The future is in food… we are a very dry country, so greenhouse farming is very important as you can increase sustainability by about 90 percent through reducing water use.
“Compared to field production, greenhouses are also less prone to pests and disease, leading to a reduction in food waste.”
It’s a concept that’s been gaining traction around the world, and thanks to his PhD, Jack has been able to help drive this interest through speaking at conferences and international seminars.
When they need to send an Australian to Italy to teach them to grow tomatoes - you know, that's really saying something.
He says his studies have opened many doors; some more unexpected than others.
“I was recently in Italy for six weeks doing some consultation about grafted plants, and how to grow the best hybrid varieties,” he says.
“When they need to send an Australian to Italy to teach them to grow tomatoes - you know, that's really saying something.”
Not only is he helping drive interest in hybrid plant varieties in the commercial space, his other recent business venture, Pink Flamingo Brothers, is helping budding green thumbs across Eastern Australia grow their own high quality, hybrid varieties.
“We have 20 odd varieties of plants that we deliver through the mail, and I guess this business really evolved out of my wish for everyday gardeners to have access to the same varieties as our commercial growers,” he says.
“They’re not your everyday tomato or cucumber, so there's an education component to that as well in that there’s a difference in varieties when it comes to plants and vegetables.”
As for those wondering how Jack has landed in the position he’s in today, he has some valuable advice.
“Make some good contacts, make a couple of networks, and then just jump in,” he says.
“You can plan everything to the nth degree, and you can write all the scoping studies you want, but the best way to get into something is to just start.”
To keep up to date with Jack’s ventures, you can find him on LinkedIn.
