Andrew Moon, from St George, was awarded the honour at the 2016 Bejo Reg Miller Awards Dinner, held at the Diana Plaza Hotel.

The Reg Miller Award is the Australian onion industry’s highest honour and is open to anyone passionate about the industry. The award recognises people who have made outstanding contributions to the industry and is named for Reg Miller, a South Australian who helped found Onions Australia. He worked on the family farm for some twenty years, served with the Australian Infantry in Darwin during WWII and throughout his life did committee work with grower associations, including Onions Australia.

This year’s winner fits that criteria perfectly. While he may have only been in the onion game just on ten years, he has successfully made a lifetime of difference to the industry in that short period of time.

Moon, a fifth generation farmer, is a familiar face to many in the industry, having served three years in the role as Onions Australia Chairman, and as a member of the former Industry Committee before that.

During Moon’s time in the top job he led the battle to get the onion industry levy finalised after a drawn-out five-year process, as well as playing a significant role throughout the Horticulture Australia Limited review. It’s more than his English ancestors, who first selected this country near Brisbane in the early 1900s, could have envisaged for their future family members.

Moon’s parents moved to St George in western Queensland in 1979 to grow cotton, but water shortages throughout the drought years of the late 1990s and 2000s forced Andrew and his business partner and brother, David Moon, to diversify. In 2004, they started growing melons, and from there have further successfully expanded in to broccoli, pumpkins, and of course, garlic and onions.

Today, onions are their biggest crop and they have a major supermarket giant as their biggest customer.

As well as day-to-day operations, Moon is responsible for all marketing of produce under the ‘Moon Rocks’ brand, where the focus on quality, sustainable, environmentally friendly produced onions, is key.

Despite stepping down as Onions Australia chair two years ago, he remains a loyal supporter of the industry body and is a vocal encourager of getting involved in networking opportunities as a member of the Executive Committee.

Moon and his wife Kerry have two teenage children, a son and a daughter, both of whom are yet to commit to the family business but those close to them suspect it’s only a matter of ‘when, not if’.

In his spare time, he is a keen fisherman who loves to escape to Cape York to camp and search for the ‘one that got away’.

Onions Australia Chair, Kees Versteeg, said Moon was an exceptionally worthy recipient of the award. “Andrew led Onions Australia through changing times, his steady hand and guidance was imperative to the success of the organisation and his unshakeable belief in the Australian onion industry is second to none.”

“Those who know Andrew best say he’s a genuine bloke, personally and professionally, who is well-known to ‘call a spade a spade’ and never leaves anyone guessing what he’s saying. Overall, he is regarded as a well-respected farmer and leader in the onions industry who will be remembered for tackling some of the sectors greatest challenges with professionalism and skill. So it is only fitting that his commitment to the Australian onion industry is proudly recognised.”