Christine Webster, Murray Pioneer
Riverland West certified organic horticulturist Bruce Armstrong is creating a niche market for his produce supplying wholesalers and customers in Adelaide, Melbourne, and the region.
At ‘Lone Pine Farm’ at Taylorville, north of Waikerie, Mr Armstrong grows a range of certified organic produce that includes apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, loquats, citrus, rockmelon, watermelon, zucchinis, squash, pumpkins and tomatoes.
In the early 2000s, Mr Armstrong and his wife Sue were part of a group of five SA organic viticulturists who specialised in making certified organic wine.
The initiative involved another Riverland grower, and growers from the South East, Langhorne Creek and the Adelaide Plains.
“It usually took about 12 to 18 months to make an income from the organic wine, and this is why we started growing the organic vegetables,” Mr Armstrong said.
“We won a lot of gold and a lot of silver in wine shows in Australia and sold a lot of wine into Japan, England, Canada and the United States,” he said.
Mr Armstrong said unfortunately the organic wine company he had helped form had to fold due to the overhead costs involved in establishing wine production, storage and bottling facilities at Langhorne Creek.
Due to this, Bruce and his wife Sue decided to take an exit package from the wine industry in the mid-2000s to specialise in growing organic fruit and vegetables.
The couple previously had about 9.7 hectares of organic wine grape vines, but these were all removed and have been replaced with about four hectares devoted to organic fruit and vegetables.
They have no regrets in leaving the organic wine grape industry and establishing an organic produce business.
“It is a niche market which is growing, and I never have any problem in finding a home for my produce,” Mr Armstrong said.
He often supplies specific customers and last year planted a particular variety of large watermelons after a request from an Adelaide supermarket.
Mr Armstrong said some windy weather caused him to lose about a third of his watermelon plants.
“I will still get a few tonnes, some I have already sent to Melbourne and I will be phoning my client in Adelaide to see if he would still like some watermelons,” he said.
Mr Armstrong said due to fruit fly outbreaks in parts of the Riverland, he is unable to transport fresh stone fruit and citrus to wholesalers in Adelaide.
But rockmelon, watermelon, pumpkin, squash and zucchinis are among the produce unaffected by fruit fly travel restrictions.
Mr Armstrong sends fresh stone fruit and vegetables to a Melbourne wholesaler, and among this produce is an early variety of apricot that he picked in October.
Due to the fruit fly restrictions he is required to wrap all his boxes of fresh apricots in shrink wrap before they are transported to Melbourne.
Some of Mr Armstrong’s produce that he sends to wholesalers is also being exported overseas, with his zucchinis making their way into shops in Malaysia.
To address a shortage of workers in 2000, the Armstrongs decided to become hosts with the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program (WWOOF).
They are also hosts for Workaway, which is a similar program.
Participants of the volunteer exchange programs assist their hosts for four to six hours per day in exchange for their food and accommodation and also learn about the destinations they visit.
Mr Armstrong said growing organic fruit and vegetables has the potential to become a lucrative enterprise for those who are keen.
“If I was younger, and you knew that you could have a steady flow of ‘WWOOFers’, you could easily earn about $200,000 to $300,000 a year,” he said.
Mr Armstrong said the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia provides support to certified organic growers and conducts annual inspections to ensure they meet certification requirements.
This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 22 January 2025.
