On 15th March 2015, Panama Tropical Race 4 was confirmed to be found on a banana farm in the Tully Valley. Since this confirmation, quarantine procedures across all banana farms in North Queensland have changed and we believe that banana farming in this area will never be the same. 

At Howe Farming, we have strict biosecurity measures in place across all of our banana farming properties. These measures have not been designed to inconvenience our staff, suppliers or visitors to our properties. They are what we consider necessary protocol in order to secure the future of our business and protect our employees’ jobs.

In order to eliminate unnecessary traffic in and out of our facilities and prevent the possible spread of any soil-borne disease, the following measures have been put into place:

• Vehicle wash down stations are being implemented at all main entrances
• Foot baths at all main entrances
• Minor entrances closed and barricaded
• Screening of all inbound vehicles
• Non-essential visitors must make an appointment with management prior to entering any farm

If you are a current employee, we advise that you catch the provided bus service to work each day where possible.

For prospective employees, we require you to contact our main office for any employment inquiries. Access to our farms will be refused if you do not have an appointment. If you have recently been working on or seeking work at other banana farms in the area, please advise the office so that your vehicle and shoes can be washed down appropriately.