Ecological zones helping their property

Daniel is a fifth generation potato grower now working alongside his father Garry.

He left school and undertook training as a plant mechanic to get his trade ticket.

“I really enjoyed this experience but knew I was going to continue to work with dad on the farm.”

Daniel is fully involved in all aspects of the family business from the maintenance of the machinery to record keeping and making sure their operations all run smoothly.

“I mostly enjoy being in the outdoors and the variety of work.

“I enjoy operating all the different types of machinery to embracing the new technologies,” he said.

When asked what he thought the biggest threat to the potato industry was he said, “Disease is our biggest threat.

“We have tight biosecurity measures in place to combat that though.”

“One of the biggest challenges we face in the industry is water issues.

“We have very limited opportunities to build new dams to meet the growth of the seed potato industry.

Daniel continued by saying,”there is a large opportunity for growth in the potato industry including new varieties forward contracted through the supply chains.

“Strong relationships must also be fostered through all sectors, not just the seed grower but to the commercial grower as well.

“I believe that special purpose varieties should find a place in emerging export markets.”

“The farm is everything to us, and if we are not tending to the potato crops, which are a year round industry, we are growing stock and planting cereal crops.

“In five years time I still want to be on the same path growing potatoes and increasing our crops and varieties.” Daniel said.

The Kadwell family have farming running through their blood.

Garry grew up with his feet planted in the seed potato industry.

He is a fourth-generation farmer and remembers exploring the native vegetation on his grandparents’ property during his childhood.

He has always enjoyed the groundwork of the agricultural industry.

Today, he is among a group of Crookwell farmers that supply approximately ten per cent of Australia’s certified seed potatoes; top quality spuds grown with a relatively low risk of pest and disease infiltration.

Heavily ingrained in his workplace culture is the all year round commitment to his responsible farming practices.

High production is at the forefront of our business but it is also vital we offset that by having a farm that is in most part, sustainable, yet promotes healthy environmental conditions.

Thirty years ago he notices changes on his property which he attributes to stock pressures on remnant vegetation areas.

“I knew I had to address this problem and started with the healthy trees to protect our seed banks.

“We had a chance to regenerate these areas naturally,” Garry said.

“Conserving the trees through planning conditions is helping us to re-establish biodiversity across the whole farm.

By doing this it has been an advantage and is quite noticeable.

Garry Kadwell is a potato grower in the Crookwell area and to help his property, he has integrated a number of dedicated ecological zones on his property in an effort to encourage the recurrence of native plants and wildlife.

Thirty-two per cent of their farm is under conservation.

“By locking up more ground we have actually lifted our production outputs.”

He said the native plants and “biodiverse-balanced areas” have assisted in promoting beneficial insects and increased bird-life resulting in reduced need for chemicals on his potato crops.

“We have also made the switch from using all chemical-based granular fertilisers to manures and foliar fertilisers timed and applied prescriptively by regular sap testing.

“This, in turn, has improved microbial activity in the soil and is helping to keep our crops very healthy.”

Garry explained that by fencing off all remnant and regrowth native vegetation, including the snow gums and peppermint gums, was “producing gains as simple as wind and frost protection.”

“We are seeing more growth in our pastures and crops and better water use and irrigation efficiency.

“These outcomes have given us great satisfaction and are proof that we can be highly productive and profitable while protecting the environment.

“We still have a long way to go.”

“Eventually we aim to provide nesting islands and marshlands to protect our native species from predators, but that’s in another days work.