An immediate shutdown of major Victorian and Queensland baby-leaf salad supplier Dicky Bill has put more than 180 people out of work just weeks before Christmas.
Dicky Bill operates two farms at Maffra, Victoria and Drinan, west of Bundaberg in Queensland, growing leafy salad vegetables and herbs year-round.
But late last Thursday, owner Ryan McLeod put the company into voluntary administration, owing hundreds of thousands of dollars to creditors.
Dicky Bill summer crops are grown at Maffra, Victoria. (Supplied: Dicky Bill)
Long history
The family-owned business was originally founded by Richard William (Dicky Bill) and Kaye Barnard in 1996.
Their son Ryan McLeod and wife Tahirih took on the business after Ryan’s father died, supplying…