For the Mock family in Victoria, organic apple farming is proud tradition. The first Mock orchard was planted just outside Melbourne in 1895.
The family later moved south, buying a farm at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula in the 1960’s.
“When we first came here it was conventional, and over the years we’ve turned it into a bio-dynamic farm,” said Wilma Henson whose grandchildren are now stepping into various roles.
The property was certified bio-dynamic in 1974.
Wilma Henson and her extended family now run Mock Red Hill, a bio-dynamic farm. Source: SBS
Biodynamic farming was founded by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s to counter the emergence of synthetic fertilisers. It focuses on enhancing soil fertility.
“Our farm now is a better field of soil than it was 20 years ago,” said Neville Mock who oversees the overall family business, Mock Red Hill.
“The new thing at the moment is agri-tourism and the whole food movement,” Neville Mock added.
Their orchards now produce a range of organic ciders, as well as apple and pear juice. Mock Red Hill has a new cider lounge, and an extensive range of freeze dried fruits and vegetables is also produced through a newer venture called Totally Pure Fruits.
September is Australia’s organic awareness month and the recent Australian Organic Market Report shows that Australian demand for certified organic products is skyrocketing, with domestic sales of almost $2 billion for 2018.
Organic fruit is is demand, amid rising concerns about chemicals and pesticides in food. Source: SBS
Offshore, there's a 13 per cent lift in exports for organic agriculture, with American demand rising for Australian grass fed organic beef.
Paul Kurtz and daughter Tammy are Demeter certified beef and lamb producers in Oberon, NSW. They say demand outstrips supply for their grass fed meats, especially after increased media attention on the impacts of farm chemicals.
Australian grass fed Demeter certified Cowobbee beef, raised at Oberon NSW. Source: SBS
"People should be concerned about what they put in their bodies," Tammy Kutrtz said.
Niki Ford added: “We have very stringent welfare requirements, and so in Australia organic beef cannot be housed in sheds or feedlots, they have to be free roaming, and fed on grass only.”
There’s also rising demand for premium organic dairy and baby food among Singapore’s growing middle class, she added.
The total Australian organic industry, including exports, is now worth $2.6 billion and is growing year-on-year.
Jenny Khan owns a business called the Unexpected Guest. It produces a range of certified organic breakfast foods and health bars, at a Halal facility on the NSW Central Coast.
“We were lucky that we’ve been able to source a facility that’s also certified Australian Organic, and that is fundamentally important to our production,” Jenny Khan explained.
Jenny Khan owns an organic breakfast and health food bar business called The Unexpected Guest. Source: SBS
The proud Ngiuyampaa Wailwan woman from Central West NSW uses a Kangaroo paw and a flowing river as her Wambool Dreaming business logo. Wambool is the Wiradjuri word for the Macquarie river.
Her graneusli is sold in specialty stores in Queensland and Northern NSW and online. Graneusli includes a range of organic nuts plus seeds and bush honey, sourced form organic growers in NSW.
“In our products you’ll see nothing refined. They are clean, they are healthy, they are beautiful fresh ingredients from Australian suppliers,” Jenny Khan said.
Australia leads the world in certified organic land management, with 37 million hectares under cultivation, that’s almost 10 per cent of all farmland with more being converted every year.
The number of certified producers rose by almost 20 per cent last year.
Australian Organic says certification is key and consumers should check labeling carefully to ensure they get what they’re paying for.
“From a consumer perspective, one of the biggest barriers is fake organics, or products that are suggesting they are organic but not certified so people don’t want to be fooled at register,” Australian Organic CEO Niki Ford said.
Niki Ford is CEO of Australian Organic, the not-for-profit industry body. Source: SBS
Australian Organic’s Bud logo is now found on over 32,000 products.
With rising demand, more farms are converting to organic which can take up to three years depending on previous land use.
“From an environmental perspective, it’s actually all about soil content and carbon content and crop rotation,” Niki Ford said.
“And allowing the soil to regenerate during the organic certification process.”
Australian Organic is calling for stricter controls on what is sold to ensure all products labelled as organic meet certification criteria.
