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tain yields. Since 2010 they have
used Australian Vermiculture
products instead of DAP fertiliser,
producing the same yields for a
fraction of their regular price.
“Several years ago we were pay-
ing $1600 a tonne to lock-in ferti-
liser prices and they were saying
that we may have to pay up to
$2000/t,” Don said.
“At the time being in a drought
with yields of 0.6t a hectare, it
wasn’t feasible.
“So we decided to run a trial
with 2000 litres of Progrow liquid.”
Progrow liquid was foliar applied
to Gladius wheat at a rate of 6
litres/ha in a water rate of 80L/ha.
The concentration of nitrogen,
phosphorus and sulphur for each
hectare was equivalent to 7.8-
9.6u/ha (N), 0.96-1.2u/ha (P) and
6.608u/ha (S).
The Rankins saw a “significant”
response to the application.
“Within 72 hours the colour of
the plant was enhanced to a deep,
lush green,” Don said.
“Within two weeks the foliage
had greatly improved, adding
more tillers.”
The Progrow liquid is used
alongside an organic carbon pow-
der coated on seed at a rate of 5
kilograms/t and an organic liquid
phosphorus seed coating at 5L/t.
Four to six weeks after sowing,
Progrow is applied at 5L/ha and
zinc sulphate at 2L/ha with any
broadleaf sprays.
“We’ve gone from spending
$150,000 a year for fertiliser to
$24,000,” Don said.
“The difference we use as profit
– we’re $130,000 better off than
we were.”
When fertiliser prices were high,
Don researched potential alterna-
tives.
“I went to carbon conferences
and all that,” he said.
But talking to local agrono-
mist and friend Jayson ‘Butch’
Butcher, who works with AV’s Del
and Brendan Price, Mildura, Don
found a solution relatively close
to home.
“We’re spending much less
money for the same result,” he
said.
“Crops are yielding the same for
a fifth of the cost.
“We’re averaging the same –
about 1.2-1.6t/ha – to a bit above
what we were previously.”
Protein in wheat crops has also
improved since using AV prod-
ucts, up 0.5-1 per cent.
“The soil pH has also dropped
from 7.8-8 to 6.6-7 in some spots,”
Don said.
“The more saline areas are also
producing better crops.”
Don said plants grew differently
since using AV products, putting
most of their energy into repro-
ductive systems.
Carolin and Don have farmed the
Pendrea property since 1988.
“We often think about what the
long-term effects on Australia’s
soils are of using man-made fer-
tilisers such as superphosphates
and urea,” Carolin said.
“On a trip to WA in 2013, Don vis-
ited the regions inland of Perth’s
wheat belt.
“The effects of continuous use of
high amounts of urea were evident
with soil looking in poor health.
“Upon talking with local farmers
they were worried about damag-
ing the soil and what the future
held.
“Because we live in a marginal
area, we are adapting our methods
of farming by reducing input costs
and increasing the biological rich-
ness of our soil and through the
use of AV products and Brendon
and Del Price’s expertise.”
By MIRANDA KENNY
C
ONTINUAL cropping in a dis-
trict with an average rainfall
of 250 millimetres is a tough
ask but Don and Carolin Rankin,
Pendrea, Werrimull, Vic, have
developed a unique way to main-
50
STOCK JOURNAL ■ September 11, 2014
PRODUCT WORKS: Don and Carolin Rankin,
Pendrea, Werrimull, Vic, have developed
a unique way to retain yields through
Australian Vermiculture products.
Biomass boost to
‘Juice’ nourishes broadacre crops
A RECENT move to Mildura marks
the continuing success of Australian
Vermiculture, a company run by
Brendon and Del Price.
The couple moved to the north-
western Victorian town from
Broken Hill.
The company began in 1997 in
Broken Hill, using earthworms as a
tool to treat various waste streams.
AV has developed a range of prod-
ucts, including a vermicompost and
Progrow, which Del said was affec-
tionally called ‘the juice’, and sold
to growers in six states.
She said the business had two
sides.
“We’re an organic waste manage-
ment company but where we dif-
fer from mainstream composters
is as a result of our vermiculture
processes. Part of our operation is
the husbandry and the breeding of
worms,” Del said.
“We utilise the worms and the
biology from the worms into our
processes which means we end up
with a range of processes which
are value-adding to soils on farming
land.
“Essentially we started with a
vermicompost, which was a direct
result of green waste broken down
through the worm processes and
so forth, then used on farming land.
“In particular, viticulture was our
main focus in 2005-06.”
Del said Mildura had always
been a market focus because it was
the closest agricultural market to
Broken Hill.
“This is where we started,” she
said.
“Brendan, my husband, is the cre-
ator and guru of the product and
processes.
“He realised that spreading a ver-
micompost broadacre was unach-
ievable and costly so he developed
a liquid derivative of it which we call
Progrow or affectionately named
‘the juice’.
•Details: www.australianvermiculture.com.au
– MIRANDA KENNY
WERRIMULL YIELDSKey points
■ Same yields for a fifth of the cost
■ Brings in extra $130,000 as profit
■ Progrow increases soil biomass
Within 72 hours, plant
colour was enhanced
to a deep, lush green.
– DON RANKIN
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