AFTER taking over the family’s organic stone fruit and vegetable farming business, Victorian grower, Nathan Free, decided to embark on a Nuffield Scholarship to help fill the production and knowledge gaps facing Australia’s organic farming industry.
As managing director of Alkira Organics, Mr Free is responsible for vegetable production, packaging, marketing and dispatch at the family’s 100 hectare certified organic horticultural production business, situated at Lake Boga in Victoria’s north-west.
His Nuffield report released earlier this year was supported by Hort Innovation and investigates sustainable practices for certified organic businesses operating in Australia, as well as new techniques to lift production.
“When our business decided to go organic, we quickly discovered that knowledge about organic farming was hard to find or expensive,” he said.
“The availability and price of inputs required for basic plant nutrition and pest management were also a real challenge.
“True to this country’s history of innovation, the challenge pushed us into producing our own inputs like compost, and encouraged us to extend our networks across the supply chain so we could make it work.
“With this firsthand experience, together with a passion for learning about production and the biology of plants and soils, I decided to apply for a Nuffield Scholarship to propel our business forward and assist others seeking to undergo organic certification.”
Keen to address the inconsistencies in supply and challenges of a segmented industry here in Australia, Mr Free visited organic businesses operating in the United States, the Netherlands and France.
“When I first started this journey, I thought I would find a ‘silver bullet’ to fix everything,” he said.
“But from early on in my travels, I saw organic farmers experiencing similar challenges to what we face here in Australia.”
