Case Study: On and Off Farm Biological Inputs

There are many ways for farmers to enhance the biological health of their soils, and many of them also serve to close the waste loop on and off farms.

The Johnson Su composting system is one example of this - a vertical composting system that farmers fill with organic material, leave to culture for a year and with the right inputs and conditions will produce a fungal-rich compost extract. It’s cheap in terms of set-up and inputs - it can be done with recycled Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs - a large, reusable container used for storage or transport of industrial goods) and vertical PVC pipes, straw and a source of nitrogen.

This is the system the Haggertys use across their 24,000 ha cropping and grazing operation — the straw is a byproduct from their cropping, the manure from their sheep sheds and once mixed with a baler and placed into the units, the compost is then topped with the bran byproduct from the bakery the farm supplies. The units culture for 12 months. They are then activated through a compost extract aerator set-up (another simple DIY job) and sprayed out via boomspray or applied at seeding to help create a microbial environment that boosts fertility and crop growth for the seed from day one.

This model allows farmers to produce their own biofertility inputs cheaply, closing the waste loop at the same time. But it’s not making any big companies any money. So in terms of the investment opportunity, the fit here is for philanthropic and public funding to support learning, demonstration and innovation around on-farm biofertility production and application across different contexts, climates and production types.

Developing compost that's appropriate to local conditions and soil needs is a skill and a science. A lot of the applied research and knowledge development for specific crops and conditions is being led by farmers in partnership with agroecological advisors.

But not all farms/farmers want to or are able to produce their own inputs and this is where the whole biological inputs industry is starting to boom. As mentioned earlier, the growth trajectory is predicted to be pretty large, and a lot of the big end of town agri- chemical companies are starting to move into the space. There are, however, some smaller, local, values-driven players who’ve been in the game for a long time and are producing their inputs in a way that aligns with the circular, not extractive, economy model.

NutriSoil is one example of this, a business selling a biological solution that uses locally sourced ‘waste’ products from Albury and Wodonga. They produce a ‘worm juice’ concentrate or leachate to boost microbial communities in the soil and enhance natural biofertility. The business was started in 1995 and has grown steadily to supply bulk quantities to farmers across Australia. Some of the farms they work with, who are within easy reach, return the by-products from their crops to Nutrisoil to cycle back through the vermiculture system.

As business models spring up in response to the opportunities presented by the growth in demand for biological inputs, there will be numerous investment opportunities. But again it's worth considering if they are replicating the old model of high input costs and dependence for farmers or if there's a deeper shift in trajectory at play.

This case study is an extract from Regenerating Investment in Food and Farming: A Roadmap.