COMMITTED. PACKED FOR YOU.
Velisha Farms is made up of a young and dynamic team.
We pride ourselves on our drive, initiative and passion, but always aim to mix it up with a healthy measure of good fun. Velisha Farms is led by Catherine Velisha, who joined the family business in 2004 and took over full ownership in 2017.
“I love nurturing our team and creating opportunities for them to grow within the organisation, it’s one of my favourite parts of the job,” – Catherine Velisha
HISTORY
Abas Velisha along with his brothers Mendu and ‘Uncle Jim’ started vegetable farming in Australia in 1949. In the early 1960’s the Velisha family were the first to direct seed plant and in the 1980s they were one of Australia’s pioneer exporters of cauliflower and broccoli.
Veli Velisha concentrated on the wholesale market and his daughter Catherine started in the family business when she was 19, serving in various roles, from packing produce to trading at Melbourne’s wholesale market.
In 2017 Catherine purchased the business outright and is now the Managing Director of both Velisha Farms and Velisha Wholesalers (Melbourne).
Whilst many milestones have continued in this family business, the ethos back then is the same as it is today. Put simply, we have a strong commitment to growing and delivering the best quality produce.
CATHERINE VELISHA
Catherine Velisha thrives on a challenge. At just 34 years old, Catherine took over as the Managing Director of Velisha Farms and now oversees several Victorian growing operations as well as our large packing facility in Werribee South, employing between 70-80 staff across all facets of vegetable production.
Catherine is the third generation of her family to embark on a career in the horticulture industry. Her father Veli Velisha was a vegetable grower who traded in the wholesale market until Catherine took over the reins in 2017. Since then, in addition to the Werribee South operation which continues to grow broccoli, cauliflower and iceberg lettuce, she has acquired land in Tatura in northern Victoria to grow zucchini in the summer and brassicas throughout winter. Another farm at Caldermeade, 70 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, produces bunch lines including spring onion, kale, coriander, and parsley, as well as lettuce, celery, and brassicas throughout the year.
Awarded the National Woman in Horticulture Award and AUSVEG Victorian Community Stewardship Award in 2021, Catherine appears on Channel 10’s My Market Kitchen and other TV, Radio and Print media regularly.
“The people I work with is what I love most about working in the horticulture industry. The success of our business is all thanks to our people. I’ve loved watching them grow, myself grow alongside them and our business growing along with us.”
