CHERRY HILL COOLSTORES &
TASMANIAN SEED POTATOES
Pictured: Our latest coolstore expansion will be ready for the 2026 season.
DECEMBER 2025
In our December newsletter, Edition 44, we are happy to report our coolstore expansion will be ready for 2026 season! We also share with you our Cherry Hill season report and our Christmas closure dates. Read on for these stories and more…
IN THIS ISSUE
SEASON REPORT
Pictured left to right: Lynette Nankervis, Wayne Maxwell, Andrew Vandenberg, Justin Johnson, Iris Bacosa, Conor O’Doherty, Dominy O’Doherty, Andrew Langmaid, Kurt Norris and Pam Langmaid.
It has certainly been a year of many challenges, including weather conditions for planting. Growers and contractors have been frantically working around the weather and are in a good position to finish on schedule by mid-December. At the time of printing we had 500 tonnes of seed potatoes in storage, and have sent out 17,000 tonnes for planting.
At Cherry Hill Coolstores, we’ve completed a full calendar year with our new cutting-line equipment, and feedback has been positive all round. We’re excited to see increases in yields and further benefits for our growers with next season’s predicted harvests.
Due to PMTV (Pomovirus solani) – or mop-top virus – we’ve had to cut much more than anticipated to contribute to the supply of seed. We were able to draw on our safeguard to help replace the many tonnes of seed that were disposed of. It turned out that our cutting team had celebrated their end-of-season High Tea a tad too early!
Our new coolstore construction has been running smoothly, and it will be coming online early next season, providing greater capacity for the storage of agricultural product.
Please contact Conor if you’d like to book space in this state-of-the-art facility – phone 0417 392 446 or email conor@cherryhillcoolstores.net.au.
Thank you for your trust in us this year, we wish you a Happy Christmas.
Pictured above: Our new coolstore is well on the way to being constructed.
CHRISTMAS CLOSURE DATES
We close at 12noon on Friday 19th December 2025
and we re-open at 7am on Monday 5th January 2026.
MAINTENANCE REPORT
We’re fully booked for December and January – no time off for the JACS team this holiday season.
We have Simplot’s annual shutdown scheduled, and have already begun the general maintenance at Cherry Hill Coolstores, with the washing-line equipment completed and the cutting line to go.
If you need any maintenance or metal-fabrication work in the new year, please let us know and we can book you in. Call Justin on 0498 780 553 if you require any help.
Justin Johnson
WAYNE’S WORLD
“Despite the weather causing everyone chaos, growers are on track with their planting. The quality of the seed is looking really good and we are all happy with the result.”
Wayne Maxwell
A SLICE OF LIFE AT CHERRY HILL
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Pictured above left: Congratulations to Beth on her retirement, and gratitude for 16 years of fine work at Cherry Hill Coolstores. We wish her a wonderful retirement and a fabulous time touring in her caravan.
Above right: Our end-of-year celebrations required pizza, of course, for the cutting and washing crew.
Pictured above left: A celebration in September to mark the end of our cutting season. Thank you to Pennyweight for our High Tea delights, and gratitude to our crew, casuals and seasonal workers for another incredible year of cutting and attention to detail. We thank you!
Above right: Andrew’s pet project for retirement is going well.
STAFF PROFILE: ANDREW “DREW” GARDNER |
Drew grew up in Sydney and moved to Devonport more than 20 years ago with his partner. Together, they have six children and four grandchildren across Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales. Family is very important to both of them, and they manage to visit Sydney every three to four months to catch up with their children and grandchildren, as well as at Christmas time. Drew loves watching his kids grow and enjoy life.
For the past three years, Drew has worked in the carrot department at Cherry Hill Coolstores. A typical day can include anything from washing, tipping and loading, or driving the forklift. He enjoys keeping the machinery clean and running smoothly, and the longer hours that daylight saving provides at this time of year certainly help.
In his spare time, Drew doesn’t stop working on machinery. He enjoys the assembly and challenges of Technic Lego. Over the years, he has assembled trucks, cranes, tractors, and dozers, and he is currently working on a Formula 1 McLaren – a very striking orange-and-black vehicle. There is a parallel between Drew’s work at Cherry Hill and his Lego: Technic Lego includes motors and gearboxes, and everything has to work properly, just like in real life.
Pictured: Andrew “Drew” Gardner.
Pictured: Wayne is getting in the Christmas spirit.
TESTIMONIAL… Communicative and Transparent
“Throughout my career in various parts of the agricultural industry, I have worked with Cherry Hill Coolstores for over 20 years and have dealt with the entire team in day-to-day operations. I have found them excellent to work with and highly committed to preventing any problems. If an issue does arise, they are always communicative and transparent. We have a strong team at Simplot and are proud of what we do, and the team at Cherry Hill continues to strengthen this working relationship.”
Darren Briggs – Simplot Farming Operations Manager
View more of our testimonials here.
CHERRY HILL COOLSTORES SEED GUARANTEE
Our Seed Management Services. Cherry Hill Coolstores will guarantee our services on Seed Growers seed. If you buy someone else’s certified seed, which is presented to Cherry Hill in good condition, and it breaks down, we will replace our cutting and services at no charge.
This guarantee specifically refers to seed piece breakdown (i.e. rot), and refers to seed which is delivered directly to Cherry Hill Coolstores from the seed paddock for chemical application, coolstoring and cutting. In order for this guarantee to be valid, the Buyer must make claims within 24-hours of the seed leaving Cherry Hill Coolstores and 
before planting.
In order for this guarantee to be valid, the buyer must make claims with 24 hours of the seed leaving Cherry Hill and before planting.
View more about our guarantee here.
MISSED A PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER?
Read past editions of our newsletter here.
GALLERY ADDITIONS
Visit our online gallery here.