Lawrence Masasso

Lawrence’s family has been working the land since his grandparents first established their farm in the late 1930s. After completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Queensland Lawrence returned to the farm in 1990, five years later the family planted their first avocado trees. He owns and runs Rocky Creek Orchards with his family in Tolga, North Queensland. They grow 150 hectares of avocado trees including Hass and Shepard varieties. They also run a commercial packing shed packing avocados for 23 growers from all over Far North Queensland. Outside of his business he has been actively involved in a number of organisations supporting the industry including a locally owned farmer cooperative and the Tinaroo Water Committee. He served in a working party to review the Barron Water Management Plan and is a member of the Ag Advisory Committee to the Tablelands Regional Council. He is passionate about helping the industry achieve sustainable returns and, “I would like to encourage a renewed focus on achieving consistent high-quality supply into the domestic market.” He is especially positive about what can be achieved by the recent focus of Avocados Australia around access to new and exciting export markets.