About Our Farm Practices
Our Vision
Our goal is to make our farm an exemplar of sustainable and regenerative agriculture, an egalitarian and stimulating work environment and a profitable, remote business. And of course, to sell the very, very best Australian dates!
Stay up-to-date with our journey by checking out the Projects, Research and Trials section of our website.
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Water
Although dates are very drought tolerant, they require a lot of water to fruit at a commercial rate. We use drip irrigation around the base of each palm which is pumped from our bore.
We have created basins around the palms to ensure that irrigation water remains in the root zone of the palms and is not lost flowing onto inter-rows.
Catching water in the basins also helps water penetrate deeper into the soil rather than remaining on the surface and assists us in monitoring surface salts which occur when evaporation is high.
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Solar Energy
We rely on a bore to draw water for our palm farm, and until recently, powering that system was both costly and resource-intensive. Solar panels now provide a reliable and sustainable way to run our irrigation system, ensuring the palms get the water they need without the heavy reliance on traditional energy sources.
So far the benefits have been very positive. Not only are we saving on power costs, but we’re also reducing our environmental footprint, something that’s important to us as stewards of this land.
It’s exciting for us to explore other ways for off-grid renewable energy to be a practical solution for outback farming and living.
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Pests
Unfortunately we have a leaf scale in our orchard called parlatoria scale. This is the only major pest we face in the Northern Territory date industry.
Scales are insects which suck sap from plant leaves, robbing them of essential nutrients and reducing the overall health of the plant. We try to minimise the impact of scale by spraying the palms each winter before the date flowers emerge, with a organically approved white oil. The white oil basically smothers the scale and limits their growth. We are also trialling selected nutrients to feed the palms to strengthen their internal resistance to parlatoria.
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Soils and fertiliser
Every year, we remove tonnes of organic material, nutrient and carbon from our soils and palms in the form of dates and dead foliage. A basic level of orchard sustainability requires that what is removed is replaced.
In recent years we used gypsum to promote root development and unlock more nutrients for the palms, fish emulsion to provide a nitrogen and micro nutrient boost for the palms and potassium sulphate to promote healthy flower growth.
We are experimenting with mixtures of compost teas, rock dust, mulch and humus.
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Organic Certification
We are not currently certified organic. However, we are 100% committed to sustainable, biological, organic farming and improving the life of our soils for the long term.
We will be seeking to gain certification from the relevant organic bodies in the future.