Apples
Most of our apples during the peak season April to September come from Raw Organics, who market several professional orchards’ crops each year. The bulk of the supply is from one of Rogers favourite orchardists, 3rd generation Andrew Smith from the pristine Huon Valley of Tasmania. Much of the supply also comes from Bellamys organic orchard, one of the nations largest, most reliable, efficient and forward thinking establishments.
R and R Smith
The third generation of ‘R and R Smith’ apple growers, Andrew first put a five-hectare block of his family’s orchard into conversion in 1999. Today he consistently produces around 150 tonnes of organic Gala and Fuji apples per year.
“I’m selling a blemish-free organic product that looks exactly the same as conventional fruit,” Andrew said. “You can’t tell the difference, and I’m excited about that.”
Andrew’s grandfather began growing apples in Grove in the early 1950s, after returning from the war. Andrew’s father Ian inherited the orchard when he was 21, building it into a profitable business.
“Dad has given his heart and soul to this business,’ Andrew said. ‘You could almost say Dad’s married to the business. So I had a very good base when I came into it 10 years ago.”
top ^Bellamy’s Organic
Bellamy’s organic orchard, the largest organic apple orchard in the southern hemisphere, is located at Sassafras, northern Tasmania – one of the state’s prime food-producing regions.
Tasmania is renowned for the purity and quality of its fresh produce. Bellamy’s Sassafras orchard is surrounded by rolling hills of prime agricultural land that sweep gently to the sea where constant fresh, purifying air gives Tasmania its environmental advantages.
Bellamy’s organic orchards are free from GMOs, dangerous pesticides, fungicides or synthetic fertilisers. We allow our apples to ripen naturally, locking in maximum taste and nutrition for better flavour.
The 300 hectare site has 108,000 mature apple trees, protected on all four sides by forest. We grow the popular varieties of Fuji, Jonagold, Royal Gala, Pink Lady’s and Granny Smith. The Bass Highway, Tasmania’s major tourist gourmet route from north to south, runs through the property that is defined by an avenue of advanced poplars.
top ^Avocadoes
Googa Farms
Googa Farms is situated in the beautiful Googa region just out of Blackbutt, 150 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, on rich red basalt soil up to 20 metres deep. The 200-hectare farm consists of 7000 bearing avocado trees with the rest being for broad-acre and vegetable farming.
Avocados – about 50,000 trays a year – are the farm’s core product. Other produce over the years has included snowpeas, soyabeans, peanuts, cereal crops, corn, zucchinis, beans and potatoes and chokoes.
The property is run by the Beutels and they converted the farm to organic eight years ago. The reason, says Anthony Beutel, is that “organic farming is common sense. It’s healthy for us, our employees, consumers and the soil.
“With organic farming you are working with nature to achieve maximum nutrition in the soil, which naturally protects the plants from pests and disease. With conventional farming you are working against nature, thus creating more work and problems in the long run.”
“Herbicides and pesticides hinder the plant’s growth and then fertiliser is needed to help the plant to grow again. The inputs are poisonous to the soil and our health and, whatsmore, are an added expense to production.”
“Organic farming takes no short cuts to deal with pests and weeds and can be more labour intensive and expensive in the beginning,” says Anthony. “However, the effort is well worth it in the end.”
The avocados produced at Googa Farms are testament that using mulch and organic farming practices give superior results. Fewer inputs are used, the soil is healthier and the trees are expected to last up to 30 years, a third longer than many conventionally grown trees.
top ^Citrus
Mt Gayndah Organic Citrus
With three generations of citrus farming in his blood, it's no wonder that Les Darrow is not prone to getting the 'flu. "I'm always eating citrus - while I'm picking, when I'm packing - it's an important part of the quality control!"
He and his wife, Benita, own and run the Mt Gayndah Organic Citrus orchard, nestled between the Burnett and Reid rivers 400 km north-west of Brisbane.
Founded by Les' grandfather in the 1920's, the younger Darrows have taken the farm to another dimension. "We're very environment conscious - greenie farmers I suppose you could call us - and when we went totally organic about three years ago. The organic system we use is a synergy which includes all the principles of sustainable farming. We believe in looking after the earth."
The 9000-tree orchard grows Imperial mandarins, Honey Murcott mandarins, Navelina early navel oranges, lemons, limes and red grapefruit - all high in Vitamin C, the natural flu-buster.
"We hand-thin to get rid of small fruit, we prune to minimise the fruits' skin thickness and we test the trees regularly to make sure that they are at an optimum nutrient and water level. We don't start harvesting too early in the season, we hand-clip the fruit from the tree when it is at its best, and we are really thorough about sorting out dry fruit."
Finally, Mt Gayndah citrus fruit is given a thin lick of eco-friendly, chemical-free wax to make sure it arrives in perfect shape.
top ^Oranges
Colo River Citrus
Anthony & Jennifer Wallis’s orchard on the corner of the Hawkesbury and Colo Rivers, just west of Sydney has been in the hands of three generations of Anthony’s family since the 1800’s. Over the last 11 years Anthony has become a household name at Dynamic Organics for his high quality, superior tasting oranges.
Anthony is an interesting zen type of organic orchardist. He exists between a hobby operator and a professional enterprise. A hobby operator puts very little inputs or management into an orchard and whilst the crop is unsprayed and organic but it is not necessarily of great quality. The high management people look for great yield, great prices and quality. Anthony relies on calm observation and an accumulation of 3 generations of family experience to create a reliable and delectable orange.
The orchard is a sound, self-sufficient ecosystem. It is left to itself most of the year, with a couple of gorgeous (unridden) inquisitive horses roaming around the orange and mandarin trees. Very rarely does Anthony interfere with the natural result by applying allowable inputs such as fertilizers or simple skin enhancing compounds. Other than irrigation he does very little; he harvests at the appropriate time what the season has yielded and brings the fruit straight to Dynamic Organics.
top ^Carrots
Bauers Organic Farm in Queensland supply our carrots most weeks in the winter. In the summer it is the very talented Victorians like Nick Chambers of Fernleigh Farm, Ballarat that keep us well attended for quality carrots.
Bauers Organic Farm
Bauers Organic Farm is situated in the heart of the Lockyer Valley, Queensland - one of the top ten "most fertile farming areas in the world" - and draws its water from a crystal clear underground supply fed by Blackfellow Creek. The Bauer family has been farming here since "settlement" in 1885. This scenic 326 ha property grows carrots, potatoes, and broccoli along with other vegetables at various times, producing a total of over 2000 tonnes of vegies annually. Beef cattle, also certified organic, graze on the hill country.
The farm is owned and managed by Rob Bauer. Rob is one of the pioneers of the 'Certified Organic' industry, choosing to grow produce in harmony with nature since the early 1980's.
The carrots from Bauer's Organic Farm are particularly sweet and make a really bright coloured, creamy textured juice. This is due to the organic growing methods and the wonderful fertile soil they are grown in.
Before planting the carrots, the soil is spelled for 6 months and grows a mulch crop. Leafy green and leguminous crops are grown and then turned back into the soil for mulch and plant food. When harvesting, the carrots are picked fresh six days a week, with small amounts being sent very regularly to a wide range of outlets.
top ^Fernleigh Farms
Organic farming is much more than farming without chemicals. It begins with caring for the soil and working with nature's systems. At Fernleigh Farm green manure crops are grown to help build the nitrogen level of soil and encourage a range of biological life.
Animals are used as part of the overall rotation to assist in building soil nutrition.
A tractor and moldboard plough incorporate the green manure into the soil in preparation for new crops to be grown. A healthy soil leads to healthy crops.
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Bananas
Our bananas come from many certified organic growers in Mossman and Tully, Qld. Local suppliers are Peters Organic Farm + Damien Rigato Bananas
Peters Organic Farm
Peters Organic Farm is nestled in the foothills of the Murray River Upper Valley, 35 km from Tully in Far North Queensland. The glorious mountains around the property reflect the tranquility and harmony of the farm.
Originally, the farm was virgin scrub and forest with a small clearing where they immediately planted bananas. Peter and his family lived in a caravan and slowly built a home and farm. In 1986, Peter decided to grow crops organically. He believed organic farming would be better for the soil and better for his family’s health. Peter has continued to pursue his conviction by studying, doing research by trial and error and is now successful in his objectives.
The crops are watered via a traveling irrigator, pumping water from the river that meanders through the property. The cool clear water flows out of the World Heritage listed mountain range. The location of the farm ensures water purity.
Minimum tillage, crop rotation, and cover crops grown specifically to plough into the soil are methods of sustainability practiced on the farm. Natural products such as Diatomaceous Earth, Copper & Lime are used to spray banana bunches and trees for insect and leaf spot control. The natural minerals, lime, dolomite, gypsum, and rock phosphate are used to maintain the balance of soil fertility. Liquid fish fertiliser is used when necessary. Weeds are controlled using by tractor cultivation when the crops are young and later, manually using a chipping hoe.
Damien Rigato Bananas
Damien Rigato is striving to understand and implement sustainable production systems on his banana farm in Tully, Far North Queensland. Damien has an innate curiosity and is always trying to improve his production performance.
Damien follows the principles of sustainable agriculture in the production of bananas. This includes minimal cultivation/tillage, integrated pest management, low input of fertilisers and chemicals and the use of fallow. Of particular focus is the development of healthy soils through the incorporation of organic matter. Through the adoption of these practices Damien has seen the soil organic C levels increase to 3.5% and production improve. Other production practices including disease, insect and soil management are undertaken using monitoring and technical expertise from external advisors.
Environmental concerns particularly related to the Great Barrier Reef is a looming issue. Key issues include contamination of waterways with nitrogen and phosphorous and increased sedimentation. Damien is well positioned to demonstrate his environmental performance being a part of the local best management practice group and having in place an internationally recognised environmental management system.
top ^Kiwi Fruit
Kiwi Down Under
At Kiwi Down Under near Bonville, south of Coffs Harbour on the NSW mid-north coast, Tom and Marguerite Hackett grow kiwi fruit organically. The Hacketts are one of only a few organic kiwi fruit growers on the mid-north coast.
On the property there are 550 kiwi fruit vines on five acres. The vines in a good year can have 150 kilos of fruit on them. The vines on the property are now close to 25 years old.
The Hacketts grow two types of kiwi fruit: dexter and haywood. The dexters are sometimes smaller, hairier and browner but much sweeter, much better flavour and suit this warmer area.
Pruning the vines is a major job, it's very intense. It takes an hour to do each vine so that’s around seven weeks during the winter.
top ^Chicken
Inglewood Farms
The two Wylie brothers started Inglewood Farms in 1993. The farm is run by located near Inglewood on the edge of the Darling Downs southern Queensland.
Previously, the land had been used for growing tobacco and the heavy chemical applications effectively 'killed' our soils. We began rejuvenating our property by using organic methods and had such success that we knew this was the way forward for us.
Inglewood Farms employ a "closed-loop" production system which is based on vertical integration, self-sufficiency and recycling.
Our chickens are fed certified organic grains which have been grown on the farm without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. We process the wholesome grain into chicken feed using an onsite feed mill.
A professional nutritionist has designed special rations to ensure that our chickens get the best possible diet. They are not fed any growth promotants or antibiotics and there are no genetic modifications in our system.
Our chickens are fed, watered and sheltered in modern, specially designed sheds with no side walls. This gives them easy access to irrigated pastures where they can forage in the fresh air and sunshine, living as nature intended. Stocking densities are strictly limited by the organic standards.
The birds remain fit and healthy because they get lots of physical exercise and have well developed gizzards from the grit picked up while foraging. This natural vigour is our protection against diseases. We believe in prevention rather than cures based on antibiotics, coccidiostats and other medications.
Our chickens taste better because they live twice as long as conventional chickens and the meat is not irradiated or bleached during processing. You can really taste the difference.
We have built a modern, export-certified processing plant which is located on the farm to avoid the cost and stress of transporting our live birds over long distances. On-site processing also improves our quality control by bringing all production and order assembling in-house.
We focus on environmentally friendly farming practices. Waste from the chickens is composted and recycled as fertilizer for our organic cropping. This also helps rejuvenate our depleted soils. Thirty percent of our land has been kept as natural forest cover to sustain native wildlife and maintain biodiversity.
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