A berry good start to picking season
About 1100 people have come through the gates of Berrylicious Strawberries to pick fruit in the past three weeks.
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Owner/operator Asaf Bar Shalom said the farm had experienced strong support at the beginning of picking season.
“We had a lot of support when we started the season, which was very helpful and we’re thankful for that,” Mr Bar Shalom said.
In the last three weeks, Berrylicious Strawberries had visitors from across the Southern Highlands, the Wollondilly Shire and Wollongong.
Mr Bar Shalom hopes to get 30,000 visitors to picking days during the season.
Last year the farm had 15,000 visitors from near and far. Mr Bar Shalom said the strawberry picking days often booked out fast.
“It’s always been a popular thing for us,” he said.
“People are buying by the bucketload and we’re getting good feedback from people about the strawberries.”
Mr Bar Shalom said support for farmers and producers in the region was strong.
“I think people that go to these farms can see the benefits of buying local,” he said.
“It’s helping someone pay their bills instead of helping a corporation buy a holiday house.”
Entry to the farm is $5 for children under 10 and $10 for people over 10 years old.
Bookings for strawberry picking can be made through the Berrylicious Strawberries Facebook page.
Sweet success for apprentice
One Highlands apprentice has proven that passion and commitment can be a recipe for success.
Gumnut Patisserie’s Josh Nickl received the most outstanding student award for 2018 at the Canberra Institute of Technology on Monday night.
Josh has travelled to Canberra for his training as he wanted to be trained by one of the national industry leaders.
While an apprentice and student at the college, Josh has entered competitions to hone his craft.
This year he was a finalist in the national Proud to be a Chef competition and won the best sweet dish award
Josh often travels to Sydney and Melbourne to further his education and learn further pastry skills.
Josh continues to work in the Gumnut Patisserie business and is making a name for himself in the Australian patisserie industry.
Tax tips from Argyle Professionals
Are you prepared for tax time?
Argyle Professionals business strategist and accountant Anthony Pickham has offered his top three tax tips for individuals:
- Motor vehicle expenses – Keep a logbook or diary records of your work-related motor vehicle usage, excluding travel to and from work and keep track of all the small trips, these add up to larger claims.
- Personal superannuation contributions – You no longer have to deal with your pay department to arrange salary sacrifice contributions to get a tax deduction. You just pay them to your super fund and advise them you are claiming a tax deduction.
- Most important – Keep all receipts! Additional audit programme funding has been provided to the ATO so it is vitally important for you to be able to prove all of your claims.
If you don’t want to lodge your return by October 31, appoint a tax agent to avoid penalties.
You could delay your lodgement until May 2019.
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