AU: Harvest begins for winter tomato producers
A few weeks ago, when the harvest had finished in most other tomato-growing areas around the nation, workers were just entering the fields of Bowen to begin their seven-month picking season.
The area is Australia's biggest winter producer of tomatoes, harvesting $160 million worth each year.
Vee Jay's Tomatoes owner, Jamie Jurgens, said Bowen had a unique climate that allowed it to produce tomatoes and other vegetables at the opposite time of year to other parts of the country.
"From about 50 kilometres south of Bowen to 50 kilometres north of Bowen, there is a void where rain just passes by at this time of year," he said.
That dry, sunny winter is what allows Bowen to grow produce usually associated with summers down south.
As a result, the town is crawling with workers from late April to November.
Mr Jurgens estimated about 3,000 seasonal workers arrived each year, bringing an economic injection.
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