BUILDING A LEGACY

John’s story began long before the first banana was planted. During World War II, his family moved throughout Queensland as his father, Maurice, took on whatever work he could find. John later boarded at Gatton Agricultural College, but at just 14 years of age returned home following the death of his mother to help support the family. Those early hardships forged the resilience and work ethic that would define his life. John married Betty in 1959 and together they raised five children while building a banana business from the ground up. On 5 October 1965, they purchased a 177-acre property at Mena Creek. The following year, six acres of bananas were planted, marking the beginning of the Horsford family’s farming journey.

The early years demanded determination and community support. A neighbour ploughed the first paddock in exchange for John cutting cane. Betty cashed in her nursing superannuation to help secure finance, John’s uncle provided an interest-free loan, and local grocer Ontai extended credit until the farm produced an income. Their first tractor was a small TE20 Ferguson and bananas were packed in a converted dairy shed using handmade timber cases. Like many farming families, the Horsfords faced disease, transport disruptions and unpredictable seasons. When railway strikes stopped bananas reaching market, John was forced to feed fruit to the cattle rather than let it spoil. Instead of giving up, the family adapted. Improved machinery, innovation and hard work steadily transformed the business.

Throughout it all, Betty remained at John’s side. Along with raising five children, she worked in the paddocks, packed bananas, drove children to sport and somehow still managed to provide meals and baked treats for workers. Together they built far more than a farm, they built a family culture centred on hard work, generosity and resilience.

PASSING ON THE TRADITION

Growing up on the farm, Lance Horsford never imagined another career. Like his siblings, he spent school holidays harvesting bananas, packing fruit and assembling wooden banana cases around the family table.

“I remember making boxes at night and working alongside Mum, Dad and the family,” Lance recalls. “We all had a job.” After attending Burdekin Agricultural College, Lance returned home to continue the family business alongside his parents. When he married Julie, she embraced farm life just as Betty had before her, becoming an indispensable part of the operation by packing bananas, driving tractors and helping wherever she was needed. Together they expanded the business while raising the fourth generation.

THE NEXT GENERATION

Lance encouraged both of his sons, Mick and Kris, to complete carpentry apprenticeships before returning to farming, believing they should always have another trade to rely on. Both eventually came home.

Today, Mick farms around 250 acres of Cavendish bananas with Lance across Camp Creek and Utchee Creek under the Nugi Creek Bananas trading name. “My brother and I were born into it,” Mick says. “We always wanted to come back.” One of his greatest memories is working alongside three generations of his family. “We were fortunate enough to work with Grandad, Dad and my brother together. Not many people get that opportunity.”

Now a father himself, Mick and his wife Emma enjoy watching their children, Charlie, Ella and Darci grow up on the farm, continuing a family tradition that now spans five generations. Kris spent ten years working in the building industry before deciding farming was where he belonged. “I always imagined myself becoming a farmer,” he says.

Today he farms 85 acres of Cavendish bananas at Pin Gin Hill with his wife Tamhara and their children, Dallas, Larni and Taylah. Kris enjoys the challenge of running a farm, particularly soil health and agronomy, and contributes to industry research through the Department of Primary Industries’ Nutrient Rate Trial Project Reference Group.

John’s third farming grandson, Luke, followed another path. After completing a diesel fitting apprenticeship and running his own mechanical business, Luke returned to farming. Today, he and his partner, Jade, farm around 500 acres of Cavendish bananas near Mirriwinni and Nerada through their businesses, Seabreeze Farming and Nourish. He has two sons, Brayden and Talan, who might also follow a similar path into farming, as generations of the family have before them.

One lesson from his grandfather has stayed with him. At 14, Luke grew an acre of pawpaws on the family farm before deciding he wanted to give up. “Grandad put his boots on and said that wasn’t an option,” Luke recalls. Together they harvested the crop, and the following week prices climbed to $38 a carton. “He taught me work ethic, and I’m grateful I had the chance to learn alongside him.”

Although each grandson has built his own business, they share the same concerns for the future of Australian banana farming, with Tropical Race 4 (TR4), rising production costs and import pressures topping the list.

GIVING BACK: BEYOND THE BANANA FARM

Shooting goals for community

The Horsford Farming Group proudly sponsor three Innisfail Junior Netball teams – Banana Bunch, Girls Gone Bananas and Ninjas. John is a life member of both the Innisfail Southern Suburbs Football Club and the Etty Bay Surf Life Saving Club. Alongside family friend John Murdoch, he helped establish the Nippers program at Etty Bay, then the northernmost surf lifesaving club in Australia to offer the junior development program. John also served for many years as a delegate and local chairman of the Australian Banana Growers’ Council.

Department of Primary Industries Team Leader Stewart Lindsay remembers John and Betty as “honest, salt-of-the-earth people” whose integrity, generosity and willingness to share their knowledge left a lasting impression on the industry.

Piet Fontyn from Australian Produce Partners has worked with the Horsford family for more than 30 years, and said he’s proud of their great business relationship and personal friendship.

“Any family business that survives across multiple generations demonstrates an exceptional work ethic, strong family support, and the ability to continually adapt.”

The Horsford family have always loved growing bananas. Over the years, the evolution of the banana industry has brought new challenges, including increasing compliance requirements, rising customer expectations, and evolving biosecurity concerns. Each of these adding pressures onto a family business.

Throughout it all, the Horsford family has consistently shown resilience and determination to rise above these challenges. They have always strived to be among the industry’s best banana growers, committed to producing a quality product.

“Seeing the boys, Michael and Kris continue the family legacy to become fantastic farmers and wonderful people over the past 30 years has been inspiring. We are all looking forward to seeing what they, and perhaps the next generation of Horsford’s will accomplish in the years ahead,” Piet said.

A HERITAGE THAT CONTINUES

Today, more than 60 years after John planted his first bananas, the Horsford heritage continues to grow. Across multiple farms, Lance, Mick, Kris and Luke continue producing premium Australian bananas while carrying forward the values John and Betty instilled, hard work, resilience, innovation and family. Those values remain the family’s greatest harvest.

As another generation grows up among the banana rows, the Horsford family’s story is far from finished.