Case Study: Oranje Tractor Wine

The Vineyard

FACT FILE: Oranje Tractor Wine

• 8 acres under vine
• Produce 10 tonnes/10,000 bottles
• Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot and Shiraz (the Shiraz ended up being too vigorous and was grafted over to Pinot)

Murray and Pam decided to grow what they preferred to eat - essentially chemical free, healthy food. They wanted to work with nature, not against it.

In the vineyard, this meant re-thinking a lot of the traditional, chemically intensive processes.

Canes and pruning:

Traditionally canes are pruned and removed (to also remove fungal spores as well as keeping them from being tangled in the nets). But this was a labour-intensive project, so Murray decided to leave the canes between every second row and run a slasher over them allowing the nutrients to be recycled back into the system. This also created an environment conducive to funghi, a key player in the soil food web.  

Using livestock:

Due to the lack of machinery (despite the Oranje Tractor name, the farm didn't have a tractor) sheep were brought in to graze between the vines - another accidental step towards regenerative farming practice...

Over these early years Murray and Pam hadn't heard of Regenerative Agriculture. But their instinctive yearning for natural produce and practices was clearly leading them down that path. When Murray heard about a series of cover cropping workshops at the Lower Blackwood LCDC he knew he had to find out more.

Cover Cropping:

Three years ago Murray and Pam started with a Bell Seeds Regenerative Ag Mix (from Nutrien Ag Margaret River). ). It was coated with a bio stimulant blend of molasses, worm wee, kelp and fish emulsion The mix included three varieties of Rye Grass, two different clovers, Plantain, Chicory, Cocksfoot, Ryecorn, Peas and Oats - in total 12 species. This year  a diverse cove crop seed mix was sourced  closer to home from Goodies Farm which came inoculated with vermicast.  This cover crop was grown and harvested together at Goodies farm which means the seeds have a more diverse microbiome that will increase the diversityof our soil food web. 

Did it work?

Murray believes that the mix of deep-rooted grapevines, sheep grazing and fertilising the plants as well as the diversity of plants that are each good at extracting and recycling specific nutrients has created a diverse soil food and robust and resilient vines. No fertiliser has been applied since 2011 (except for one potassium foliar).  

But it's all about timing...

Murray advises that a cool season cover crop is best sown as early as mid-April rather than waiting for late April/mid-May. Planting a warm season cover crop (to have living roots in the soil over summer) in mid-October is probably not worth the effort, as success depends on late spring and early summer rain. Instead, he believes it’s better to include chicory, plantain and evening primrose in the mid-April planting as these are deep rooted plants that can survive over summer. Make sure you have a diversity of plant species- ensure you have grasses, cereals, legumes, and herbs.

Foliar and Cover Crops as fertiliser:

Over the last few years, early in the growing season he noticed some red leaves on the pinot vines and sent some away for analysis. The results showed a potassium deficiency. Rather than follow the advice he received which was to apply a granular fertiliser he applied a potassium foliar.

He believes the diverse cover crop will help to make potassium more available to the vines as different plant species specialise in accumulating different nutrients and making them available to the ecosystem pool.

He is happy to report that soil organic matter has increased by 48% since 2003, currently sitting at 8.5%. Increasing soil organic matter is a cornerstone metric of organic and regenerative agriculture as it aids soil structure, water-holding capacity, nutrient mineralization, biological activity, and water and air infiltration rates.

Organic Certification:

The vineyard has been certified organic since 2005 and was a natural progression of the family's farming philosophy.

"We decided to grow this farm by working with nature rather than declaring war against it." - Murray Gomm

Carbon Accounting:

Murray was always interested in finding out what his carbon footprint was, so following a call out from Landcare Australia for farms interested in carbon accounting, Oranje Tractor finally had some data. Although they were already certified organic, he was aware of the risk of still being a 'carbon vandal'.

The vineyard was very low input; just small amounts of sulphur and potassium sulphur and potassium bicarbonate are used for powdery mildew control. Other considerations were the fuel for the ATV and methane from the sheep so that side was relatively easy to tally. . Quantifying the area and diversity of revegetation on the property and average circumference of the vine trunks and cordons provided the data on how much carbon the farm was packing away.  

The result was that the 20-acre property absorbs six times Co2 and Co2 equivalents than the vineyard emits - putting the farm firmly on the right side of the ledger.

Murray is keen to point out that this didn't include any formal validation or accreditation.

The Orchard

FACT FILE

• 170 fruit trees
• Small amounts of many things (from cherries to bananas)
• Fruit volumes vary - 250 + kgs of plums this year, 'colossal' volume of olives last year but zero this year
• No accurate figures as the fruit is traded for eggs and vegetables
• Some produce is taken to local markets, but only small amounts

The fruit isn't a commercial product for the farm so accurate statistics about production aren't available. Instead, the fruit is used as a farm currency. Murray may pick and sell five kilos to someone who may take it to a local market, but he has a network of people who help with the farm and business who are paid in avocados or apples - whatever he has available.

"What's your production? Well, I don't know. I just swap it, I don't measure it all..." - Murray Gomm

Diversity is key in the orchard - but Murray is keen to push it even further. He knows that if he sees dragon flies buzzing around the orchard, the place is healthy.

This autumn he'll plant layers of different plants to super-boost the diversity. One of his favourites is fennel, as it will attract predatory wasps and lacewings that will take down thrips, mealy bugs and mite as well as being a chop and drop mulch providing a nutritious herb. He's also planning to extend out the mulch layer, adding as much diversity as he can get his hands on - essentially giving every fruit tree the opportunity to have a diverse vegetable, flower and herb garden around it and a diverse soil food web below providing pest, disease, and nutritional services.  

"I let nature do the heavy lifting and all the complex stuff on this farm. It turns up every day, doesn’t send me a bill and has had billions of years of on-the-job training" - Murray Gomm