Farming for the Future
As any farmer will tell you, it takes good soil to produce good food. The problem with conventional farming methods is that they strip minerals and nutrients from the soil so that, over time, more and more fertilisers are needed. Even with these expensive additional inputs, the yield of crops drops, requiring more to produce less.
The challenge: find a way to turn the situation around and produce more using less, while preserving quality and without adding to the cost. We are pioneering a new method of farming that is allowing our farmers to grow food sustainably and in harmony with nature.
We call it Farming for the Future, a holistic approach that manages the entire farming process systematically. It all starts with building and maintaining the soil.
Healthy soil is better able to retain water, needs less irrigation and fewer chemical interventions, which means farmers only use synthetic fertilisers or herbicides when absolutely necessary. Fewer chemicals mean less chemical run-off, which helps to maintain water quality as well as contributing to maintaining biodiversity, both in and above the soil.
Some of our farmers have been using these methods for more than five years and have seen the benefits. All our locally grown fresh produce (other than organically certified produce) is now grown this way.
Farming for the Future has also been expanded to horticulture. We plan to further grow the programme to include dairy products as well as other areas of our foods business in the future.
For an example of Farming for the Future in action, read about our indigenous plants, grown for us by De Fynne Nursery.