New SE vegetable growers reap rewards of online push

But many businesses, especially those in the agribusiness and food sector, strive to keep busy and are finding innovative ways to sell their products online or with home deliveries.

Community organisations are also helping spread the message of the importance of consumers supporting local businesses in these unprecedented times.

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The Tatiara Business Association is one harnessing the power of social media in its campaign to highlight those still open for business in Bordertown, Keith and surrounding towns.

President Daniel Staude says their hashtag #TatiaraOpen4Business campaign, which they started late last month, is gaining momentum among locals and they are using it in their Facebook posts about the products and services available in the Tatiara.

He said some shops had been forced to close, but many others were still working away behind the scenes and needed local support more than ever.

"Bordertown and the whole Tatiara is really reliant on vehicles driving along the highway, stopping in town and spending. That has stopped in the past couple of weeks with the borders closing," he said.

Mr Staude says the local farming community has been blessed with a couple of good seasons, but urges them - and all residents - to spend in businesses that employ locals and give back to the community in sponsorship.

"It is very easy to get online and buy something from Amazon or off eBay, but we are asking people to stop and think - there is a high chance everything they are looking for is in town," he said.

Earlier this month, Regional Development Australia Murraylands and Riverland launched a 'We are Here' video, starring local business owners.

So far it has been shared 214 times on the RDA's Facebook page and reached more than 50,000 people.

It has also had more than 100 responses so far to a business confidence survey it hopes to capture on-the-ground data and stories from businesses being impacted - good or bad due to COVID-19.

RDAMR chief executive Ben Fee encouraged as many local businesses as possible in the area to jump in and fill the survey out.

"The more on-the-ground intel we can gather from businesses across the Murraylands and Riverland, the more we can do in terms of providing this information to influential stakeholders and all tiers of government, which then goes on to help inform decision making," he said.

"Further, the feedback from this survey will allow the RDAMR to adapt our own local programs to suit the needs of the business community, ensuring they can have tangible outcomes for businesses in the current isolation environment.

"This is just the start of this RDAMR campaign and its response to COVID-19 - as it continues to work with local businesses, industry leaders, government and NGOs to connect local stories, issues and data with the people who need to hear it most."

Check out the Tatiara Business Association Facebook page here or to fill out the Regional Development Australia Murraylands and Riverland click here

AFTER sowing some vegetable seeds into one of their paddocks last year, a new business has sprung up for third-generation Keilira farmers Danielle and Jonathan England.

They are delivering boxes of fresh seasonal produce across the Limestone Coast.

The Englands were looking for a way for their farm to employ both of them full-time and so Black Island Produce was born on half an acre.

"Our farm was 1.5 labour units so we were looking for something extra to pop in with the 3500 Merino ewes and 90 hectares of coarse grains we grow," Mrs England said.

"We had the water and soil tested and vegetables came up as an option. We thought there was an opportunity there."

The first seeds were sown in August, and in December they made their first sales in the local Kingston SE area through market stalls.

But since the COVID-19 restrictions in mid-March, they have changed tack, fast tracking their online ordering system and making the most of social media.

Customers can go online and order a range of vegetables, from crisp lettuces, tomatoes and capsicum and radish with winter vegetables, such as cabbage and cauliflowers available soon.

Business has taken off with their delivery run now including Kingston SE, Robe, Lucindale, Naracoorte and Penola and nearly 40 produce boxes being sold a week, and orders growing.

"In all the towns we have collection hubs where people can grab their orders and minimise human interaction and we also drop some boxes at gateways along the way," Mrs England said.

In the past fortnight, Black Island Produce has begun working with fellow foodies Robe Dairy, Lowan Park Chickens at Bordertown and Karroo Eggs, Lucindale, offering their products in the deliveries.

Mrs England says they have been fortunate to benefit from the global trend towards farmgate sales as households return to home cooking.

"People like knowing where their food is coming from and all our boxes are 100 per cent compostable with a wool lining," she said.

"In the supermarket you can buy lettuce, which might have been trucked from Qld or NSW and only lasts two days in the fridge, whereas our lettuces can last up to two or three weeks and they taste so different."

Details: blackislandproduce.com.au