It's twice the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground field, it has its own weather station and its roof retracts in about two-and-a-half minutes. Welcome to the cutting-edge technology of Young Sang & Co's 4.3ha "Brella Fields" greenhouse, the first of its kind in Australia in terms of its size and capability.
The $3 million polyethylene-roofed structure, in North Gregory, south of Bundaberg, is growing its first crop of predominantly roma tomatoes alongside other specialty tomato varieties and smallcrops such as capsicum, and was officially opened at a special introductory event this week.
Young Sang general manager Daniel Scavo said he believed the technology could be a game-changer for Australian agriculture and food security. "It's built to sustain major wind and weather events and allows us to protect ourselves from the elements," Mr Scavo said.