01 Nov 2017 North East Farmer, Wangaratta (General News) THE Australian Pumpkin Seed Company is the only Australian producer of pumpkin seeds, and was recently congratulated by Labor Upper House member for Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes, after she toured the Ovens based business. The Australian Pumpkin Seed Company began in 2002, and has since grown into a complete supply chain from growing the produce right through to point of sale. Recently, the company was asked to participate in the Victorian Small Business Festival as one of the nine faces of small businesses. The festival was the biggest ever of its type in Australia, with over 500 events across the state -including 37 from North East Victoria. This truly is a magnificent story, proving we have some of the best small business success stories in North East Victoria, Ms Symes said. The Australian Pumpkin Seed Company also offers education sessions about its products and processes to the general public, and recently added a non-profit arm that allows farmers to use the companys cold press oil mill at cost price. Businesses such as Australian Pumpkin Seed Company are crucial to our economy but also to their local communities because of the positive social impact they can have. One of the best things about the small business sector is the great success stories we hear from people, particularly country Victoria, who had a dream and worked hard to achieve it just like Australian Pumpkin Seed Company. Victoria has more than 556,000 small businesses, including around 17,000 in the Hume region. Victorias small business sector continues to grow at a rate faster than any other Australian state and in 2016 grew by 2.8 per cent, with more than 15,300 new small businesses created. ON THE MOVE: Sharan and Jay Rivett (below) own Australias only pumpkin seed farm, and were recently part of the Victorian Small Business Festival. PHOTO: Jason Robins Photography Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.