Macintyre Brook Grove

Macintyre Brook Grove is owned and run by the Meron family along the banks of the Macintyre Brook river in the Border Rivers Region of Southern Queensland. We were lucky enough to have a chat with the family and gain more insight into the process of creating this incredible product.

Where did the idea for your business come from and how has it evolved?

We originally bought the property as a cattle block that just happened to have olive trees on it. But, we soon realised that we could use the olive trees for a lot more than just cattle feed.

The whole family chipped in to help work the Grove and we managed to produce our first crop that we sold wholesale to the market. We then created the Macintyre Brook Grove Label and things have continued to blossom from there.

We use a holistic farming approach with a stringent irrigation program to maximise our olive production and minimise our environmental footprint.  We utilise rotational grazing practices of cattle throughout our olive trees. This helps improve soil biodiversity and maintain a weed free environment, without the use of harmful chemicals. Our fresh tasting Oil is a reflection of the clean and natural environment our Olives are grown in. We harvest and process our olives on farm using a processing plant for cold pressing.

Can you tell us about the challenges you have faced within your business and what has helped you to overcome them?

The drought has been the largest challenge our business has faced. Our business is heavily reliant on water from the Macintyre Brook catchment to irrigate the Grove and maintain a constant supply of olive fruit to process into Extra Virgin Olive Oil. During the drought our water allocation was zero. This meant that we were unable to irrigate our olive trees, which resulted in significantly less fruit production and olives to harvest.

Where do you see your business going in the future?

Our olive oil is currently sold along the East Coast of Australia. In the future we hope to expand and also target the international market.

Any advice for small business owners in rural and regional Australia?

Be passionate about what you are doing and the product you are providing. This will help you withstand the tough times and deal with the adversities rural and regional businesses face.

To check out the full range of Macintyre Brook Grove Extra Virgin Olive oil go to http://macintyrebrookgrove.com/ or shop via the Wattle I Gift range of gift hampers featuring the incredible olive oil.