Southern Farmer

Page 1

Published since 1986

SEPTEMBER, 2018

Elmore Field Days LIFTOUT

www.farmernews.com.au

Livestock

Regional shows

PAGE 16

PAGES 18-19

Victoria’s first organic co-op Four businesses kick-start a new way to share-farm Ű

NEW WAY TO FARM: Katie and Hugh Finlay have pioneered the first organic share-farm, where four individual producers have signed on to lease parts of their farm – including an orchardist, vegetable growers, a micro dairy and a heritage nursery. The Finlays hope that, over time, even more farmers will become involved in the co-op. Read the story below and then turn to pages two and three. PHOTO: David White

BY the end of this month, Mount Alexander Fruit Gardens will herald in a new era of farming. Katie and Hugh Finlay will step back from being orchardists, instead earning part of their income from their land as it is farmed cooperatively by different businesses. Together, the team will become known as the Harcourt Organic Farming Alliance (HOFA). It is a novel idea, and one that is very much in its infancy; plenty of details still need to be thrashed out, including power usage, water rights, infrastructure maintenance costs to name a few. But the idea behind HOFA is as romantic as it is practical; complimentary farming for individual products. The Mount Alexander Fruit Garden, just out of Harcourt, sits

on 60 hectares of granite loam soil. The property has been in Katie’s family for almost 50 years, with 6000 mature apple, peach, pear, cherry and nectarine trees - as well as a self-supplying tree nursery. With an average rainfall of 450mm, the 2018 season is tracking well for sub-soil moisture, which will work with their ongoing soil improvement program to help promote healthy microbial activity. It has also proven to be the perfect time for the Finlays to take a step back – the culmination of a process that started a couple of years ago. “We wanted to retire, but we wanted to stay on farm,” Katie said. This is where the pair hit the o UVW URDG EORFN

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