Leigh Hicks

Leigh has been growing tea tree since 1995 in Leeville, outside Casino NSW. He also operates a distillery and contract harvesting service for the other tea tree farmers in his area. Leigh’s tea tree plantation is 180 hectares.

Before coming to tea tree, Leigh was a large dryland farmer, operating an 18000 acre farm in Western New South Wales. He became sick an tired of drought, and learned about tea tree as an alternative crop which grows in areas with more predictable rainfall patterns. He made the move to Leeville, a more suitable area for tea tree cultivation, to give it a try.

Leigh likes tea tree for its attributes as a farm crop. For example, it only has to be planted once, which is both easier and cheaper to deal with than grain crops, which need to be planted yearly. The crop also gives a little more free time which is welcome.