Among those present were Member for Oxley Michael Kemp and Nambucca Valley councillors James Angel and Troy Vance.

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An open bar and light meals were provided, with attendees told it was courtesy of local blueberry growers.

Attendees heard from three speakers, with the main body of the presentation delivered by James Kellaway, the current CEO of Oz Group, a cooperative for farmers of soft fruits including blueberry growers in the Coffs Coast region.

Mr Kellaway addressed what he described as rumours and myths about blueberry farming.

He sought to quiet community concerns regarding chemicals used, health of soils in blueberry farms, checks and audits required by blueberry farmers, arrangements for staff and water usage, among other topics covered.

“Blueberry farming is the most efficient usage of water there is,” Mr Kellaway told those in attendance.

He further explained that this was due to the use of drip feeding directly to each plant.

When questioned about water usage in general, Mr Kellaway deferred to a local farmer in one of the front rows who told the group that he and others were adhering to all laws surrounding harvestable water and bore water usage.

According to Mr Kellaway, soils on blueberry farms are biodynamically sound and replete with microorganisms due to the no-till method employed by farmers, a claim he stated was backed up by peer-reviewed research.

Mr Kellaway stressed that his organisation would only support blueberry farmers who complied with laws governing the industry, while making it clear that he believes existing laws and auditing requirements are adequate to ensure the safety of surrounding properties and waterways, even those nearby to blueberry farms.

Mr Kellaway and other attendees also sought to dispel rumours regarding the saleability of land that has been used for blueberries and is now unhealthy.

They said they knew of no properties where farmers had ‘walked away’ from land previously used in this way.

During question time, the Oz Group CEO also addressed community concerns of clear-felling of trees on newly purchased land in preparation for blueberry farming.

“Perhaps they should have left one tree, perhaps several.

“Everyone would have a different opinion,” he responded to one farmer’s question on a specific farm in the valley.

Mr Kellaway told the room that farmers need to follow the laws governing land clearing, and that if anyone had evidence to the contrary, to contact him directly with it.

When asked how seasonal workers were contributing to the local economy and where they were housed, Mr Kellaway said that farmers often housed them onsite, and this was to relieve pressure on the rental market in the area.

The third speaker, Helen Rushton, a local woman from the Nambucca Valley who shares a boundary with a blueberry farm and has become friends with the owner of this farm, encouraged listeners to go and introduce themselves to and become friends with the owners of blueberry farms.

She described recent unrest towards blueberry farming as “something ugly” which has entered the community, claiming blueberry growers, many of whom are of Indian heritage, are being unfairly targeted.

By Ned COWIE