Organic Insights Magazine - Summer 2022

12 / Organic Insights / Summer 2022

Going organic shifted the farm focus to high quality, specialist grains as opposed to high yield. This included planting low gluten varieties of spelt and sorghum and ‘historic wheats’ that cater to a high-value ‘health conscious’ and ‘artisan’ market. For the first 10-15 years, almost all product was exported, but the change of focus and growing local demand has shifted this completely to 100% domestic supply at this stage. “We have a very close relationship with certified private miller Wholegrain Milling in Gunnedah, NSW… and are their sole grower of a heritage wheat variety [Foster wheat] - that was actually bred by a farmer in Capella, using seed genetics from 1901, 1944 and 1952,” says Paul.

involvement in the development of a hybrid organic sorghum seed with Radicleseeds (formerly as CEO). “It’s a slow process..there is a decade in seed breeding at least, but it’s been really interesting,” he says. “They said you could never get a hybrid organic sorghum seed, and we did!” Paul is obsessive about soil, and soil science. For anyone starting in organic, he recommends “taking any course they can on understanding soil.” “It’s the basis for everything – seeds, plant health – it all starts with the soil.” Paul strongly believes the expert should be the farmer, and that all farmers are capable. “Agronomists grew out of the 60 and 70s,

and they are what I call prescribers of products and services. They can tell you what to do, but equally they can be telling you the wrong thing to do.” Similarly, he says that people come to him for advice, but “while I’m sufficiently good at my patch… on another patch, I could be as wrong as the next guy.” Paul says that every farm is different, people need to be patient and observe. Keep good records. Dedicate trial areas. “And, take more notice of what the natural world is telling you.” “Ag needs to get back to that,” he says, “but we still see things here that we don’t have an answer for.” “Just when you think you know something, you don’t!” Further Information

“It doesn’t yield terribly high, but boutique bakeries appreciate the superior flavour and it’s used in sourdough making,” he says. “Anecdotally, many people who can’t tolerate modern wheat varieties, can eat this, and not be affected.” The relationship doesn’t stop at the miller… Paul regularly receives feedback from end users, bakers, and others, on his grain, even hosting visits at harvest time. “It’s unusual in agriculture today to have that connection to the end user and it’s nice to have, as we can look to fine-tune what we can control,” he says. “There is definitely a push for certified organic.” Paul says that organic management is inherently more expensive, “but you need to keep costs down…so that you don’t price yourself out of the market.” His interest in heritage wheat has also seen Paul involved in seed genetics, with continued

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